Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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558. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the details of appointments to State boards, by name of appointee, date of appointment and appointment through a public application process or otherwise, from 7 March 2011 to date; the number of vacancies on State boards under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4616/16]

Alan Kelly (Tipperary North, Labour)
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Since July 2011, my Department’s website has been used as the primary mechanism for seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced persons, for consideration as members or chairpersons of the boards of State bodies under my Department’s aegis.

In line with a Government Decision last Autumn, a Revised Model for Ministerial Appointments to State Boards, brought forward by my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, has been put in place, operating through the Public Appointments Service, and will govern relevant future appointments. Under the revised model expressions of interest are now made directly by registering on Stateboards.ie. My Department’s website has been amended to refer any interested party to the website.

Details in relation to appointments made since 2011 to date are available on my Department’s website at the following link:

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In the case of certain appointments to State Boards, statutory selection procedures must be followed or nominations must be sought from independent nominating panels before appointments are made by the Minister or the Government, as appropriate. In addition, in the case of a number of boards, not all of the appointments to the body concerned are made by the Minister, and in some situations appointments are made by the Minister with the consent of another Minister. Furthermore, appointments to An Bord Pleanála and to the Board of the Environmental Protection Agency are of a full-time executive nature and are governed by statutory processes.

The table below outlines the current vacancies on Boards of Agencies and Bodies under my Department’s aegis:

In addition, the Pyrite Resolution Board is in the process of seeking the appointment of an additional Board member (not a vacancy).