Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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400. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of appointments to State boards under the aegis of his Department and the number of appointments that have been advertised on his Department's website, since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46249/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Sixty-six persons have been appointed to the boards of bodies under the aegis of my Department, since its establishment in June 2011. Details are set out in the following table.

In line with Government Decisions in 2011, all vacancies on the boards of State Bodies and Agencies operating under my Department's aegis have been published on my Department's website and expressions of interest sought from persons interested in being appointed to these boards. My officials acknowledged all expressions of interest received and maintained a database of those expressions.

In May 2013 the Public Appointments Service, on behalf of my Department, sought expressions of interest from those interested in being appointed to the Board of the Family Support Agency, having regard both to its then statutory functions and its planned role in facilitating the establishment of Tusla, the Child and Family Agency. The membership of the board of the Family Support Agency was appointed to the board of Tusla on its establishment on 1st January 2014. Following establishment, the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board ceased to exist and their roles were subsumed into Tusla.

New arrangements concerning appointments to State Boards were approved by Government in November 2014. Guidelines covering the process to be used were published on 25th November 2014 by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Under these new arrangements, the Public Appointments Service manages the process of advertising vacancies and selecting suitable potential appointees to State Boards. There is a link on my Department's website to the State Boards website. The Public Appointments Service recently assisted my Department in the appointment of the Board of the Adoption Authority of Ireland with effect from 1st November 2015.

Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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401. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of chairpersons appointed to State boards under the aegis of his Department who have appeared before the relevant joint Oireachtas committee since March 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46264/15]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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Since the establishment of my Department in June 2011, four chairpersons appointed to State boards under the aegis of my Department have appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children in advance of their appointments in line with this Government's policies in this matter. Mr. Joe Horan, Chairperson of the Board of Management of the Children Detention Schools appeared before the Committee on 8th March, 2012. Ms. Sharon Foley, Chairperson of the Family Support Agency also appeared before the Committee on 8th March, 2012. Ms. Nuala Doherty, Chairperson of the National Educational Welfare Board appeared before the Committee on 26th July, 2012. Ms. Norah Gibbons, Chairperson of the Board of Management of the Child and Family Agency appeared before the Committee on 23rd July 2013. Mr Geoffrey Shannon, whom I recently re-appointed as Chairperson of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, has appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on a number of occasions.