Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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162. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will appoint a new chair of the Higher Education Authority as a matter of urgency given that the authority has been without a chair since January 2016; and if and when he will fill the vacancies that currently exist on the board of the Higher Education Authority. [16761/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The term of office of the previous Chair of the Higher Education Authority expired at the end of January 2016. The process for the recruitment of his replacement was undertaken by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). This was done in line with the procedure put in place in September 2014 by the previous Government, which gave the PAS responsibility for putting in place an open, accessible, rigorous and transparent system to support Ministers in making appointments to State Boards.

The PAS process has recently concluded and a short-list of suitable candidates have been put forward for consideration following the process undertaken by the PAS.

A decision in relation appointing a new Chair of the Higher Education Authority will now be taken as soon as practicable.