Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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890. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the names of the persons he has nominated to serve in positions carrying remuneration, other than out of pocket expenses, on commissions, industrial, assurance, semi-State or other similar concerns; the amounts received annually in respect of each appointment; the name of the concern to which the appointment was made during the years 2011 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46660/15]

Alex White (Dublin South, Labour)
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There have been 175 appointments to State Boards under the aegis of my Department in the period 9 March 2011 to date. Of these appointments, 25 were from among individuals who submitted expressions of interest following an advertisement on my Department's website. A further 9 appointees applied under the revised arrangements set out in the Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards which were published in November 2014.

Appointments to Boards also include nominations provided for by statute, Committees of the Oireachtas, worker directors and ex-officio positions. While the precise number varies from body to body, it can amount to a significant proportion of a Board in certain instances. Some 48% of the 175 appointments made were either ex-officio appointments, reappointments, the appointment of worker directors chosen by election, or appointments made on foot of nominations made by an Oireachtas Committee.

In addition to State Board appointments, Mr. Bobby Kerr was appointed to Chair the Post Office Network Business Development Group and received remuneration totalling €27,603 in 2015.

Two people were nominated to participate on the Steering Group set up by my Department to oversee the State-led Intervention required to achieve the objectives of the National Broadband Plan (NBP). The participants are qualified telecoms experts from the UK and France and were appointed through a tender process to serve on the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee contains a total of 11 members, most of whom are public servants. Only the members appointed through a tendering process have been remunerated for their participation. The persons and remuneration details are outlined below.

The following table lists all appointments to State Boards under the aegis of this Department since 9 March 2011:

Appointments made since 9 March 2011 to date

* Board of OSI appointed by Minister of State

** Appointed by the Minister of State on the nomination of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government

***(JOC) appointment

The following are the categories and rates of fees for Board Members:

Category and Rates of Fees for Board Members of Bodies Under the Aegis of DCENR where applicable

The One Person One Salary policy introduced by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform provides that serving public sector employees are not eligible to receive remuneration in relation to their membership of boards of State Bodies. Non-public sector board members may choose to voluntarily waive their fees as a matter of personal choice. Both of these policy initiatives of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform have been brought to the attention of the bodies under the aegis of the Department. Consequently, the remuneration details in the table above refer to fees that may be payable and are not indicative of fees actually being received by board members. The payment of board members’ expenses is an operational matter for each State Body.

* The Mining Board Fees were reduced w.e.f. 1 July 2013