Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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292. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs 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. [4612/16]

James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael)
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I am responsible for the appointment of members to the boards of the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), Gaisce and the Board of Management for the Children Detention Schools. From the establishment of my Department in June 2011 until 31 December 2013 the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs was responsible for appointments to the Boards of the Family Support Agency (FSA) and the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB). With the establishment of the Tusla on 1 January 2014, the FSA and the NEWB ceased to exist and their roles were subsumed into the Agency.

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

In May 2013 the Public Appointments Service (PAS), on behalf of my Department, sought expressions of interest from those interested in being appointed to the Board of the FSA, having regard to both its existing statutory functions and its planned role in facilitating the establishment of Tusla. The members of the FSA Board, in place at end 2013, were subsequently appointed to the Board of Tusla on its establishment on 1 January 2014.

New arrangements concerning appointments to State Boards were approved by Government in November 2014. Guidelines covering the process to be used were published on 25 November 2014 by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Under these new arrangements, PAS manages the process of advertising vacancies and the selection of suitable potential appointees to State Boards.

There is currently one vacancy on the Tusla Board and this position was advertised by PAS. There are also two vacancies on the Board of Management of the Children Detention Schools. The Children (Amendment) Act 2015 creates a legal framework to amalgamate the 3 existing Schools in Oberstown into a single detention school with a new board of management to be appointed by me. I am also arranging for four vacant positions on Gaisce, the President's Award scheme, to be advertised through the State Boards process. Seven members were appointed to the Board of the Adoption Authority of Ireland with effect from 1 November 2015, following the advertisement and selection process by PAS.

My decisions on appointments to boards are subject to the relevant governing legislation, and take into account the particular responsibilities of the body or agency in question. At all times I seek to ensure that the body or agency is best served by an appropriate mix of skills and experience.

The tables below set out the appointments to the respective boards since 2011.

Adoption Authority of Ireland

The credentials of the persons appointed were in accordance with Section 98 of the Adoption Act 2010.

The table below includes details of the nominating person or body for each appointee in accordance with the Education (Welfare) Act 2000.

The table below includes the nominating person/body in accordance with Section 167 of the Children Act 2001.

All appointments made by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs in line with Gaisce's Memorandum and Articles of Association.