Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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681. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will appoint the final Government appointee to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; the timeframe for the appointment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36877/16]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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682. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will appoint the final Government appointee to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; if not, the reasons for this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36878/16]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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684. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the vetting process or assessment criteria for appointees to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland; if conflicts of interest are taken into account; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36880/16]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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686. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if he will publicly advertise for the position on the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland, for which the Government has an appointee; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36882/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 681, 682, 684 and 686 together.

Appointments to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) are made by Government, on my nomination as Minister, in accordance with the provisions of the Broadcasting Act 2009. There is currently one vacancy on the Authority.

In addition to appointments to the BAI, the Government, on my nomination, makes appointments to two BAI statutory committees, namely the Contract Awards Committee and the Compliance Committee. There is currently one vacancy on each of these Committees with a further vacancy due to arise on the Compliance Committee in January.

The 3 current vacancies, as well as the upcoming vacancy, will be filled in accordance with the provisions of the 2009 Act and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards published in November 2014. In line with the Guidelines, the vacancies have been publically advertised on the websites of the Public Appointments Service (PAS), the BAI and my own Department. The closing date for applications is 8 December 2016 after which applications will be assessed and a shortlist provided to me for consideration. It is my intention to bring my nominations to Government as soon as possible after the shortlist is provided to me.

The assessment criteria in each case are detailed in the public advertisements. Candidates must in all cases confirm that they do not have any conflicts of interest which would likely interfere with their ability to play a full part on the Authority or relevant Committee.

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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683. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if there are currently any complaints lodged with the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland that cannot be assessed, answered or adjudicated on in view of the fact that the final Government appointee has not been selected; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36879/16]

Brian Stanley (Laois, Sinn Fein)
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685. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the number of times members of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland have had to remove themselves from assessing, answering or adjudicating on a complaint due to a conflict of interest; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36881/16]

Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 683 and 685 together.

The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is an independent body established under the Broadcasting Act 2009. The activities of the Board and the statutory committees, namely the Contract Awards Committee and Compliance Committee, are operational in nature and not matters in which I, as Minister, have any function.