Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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406. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality the reason a new chair of the Valuation Office was appointed without the post being advertised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34262/17]

Charles Flanagan (Laois, Fine Gael)
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Since the Valuation Office (which is headed by the statutory Commissioner of Valuation) does not have a Board, I will take it that the Deputy is referring to the Valuation Tribunal. The Valuation Tribunal is an independent statutory body which hears appeals against decisions of the Commissioner of Valuation on the valuation and revaluation of commercial properties for rating purposes under the Valuation Acts, 2001 to 2015. The Valuation Office (and the associated Valuation Tribunal) came under the remit of my Department with effect from 1 January 2016.

Schedule 2 of the Valuation Act 2001 provides that the Minister "shall from time to time as occasion requires appoint a member of the Tribunal to be chairperson". As the term of appointment of the current Chairperson of the Valuation Tribunal will expire on 30 July 2017, it was deemed prudent to appoint an experienced serving member of the Tribunal as Chairperson. It might be noted that this proposed appointment was recommended by the outgoing Chairperson in accordance with the provisions of the Guidelines on Appointments to State Boards. The appointment of an experienced member of the Tribunal as Chairperson is particularly appropriate having regard to the anticipated impending extra workload for the Tribunal arising from the ongoing National Revaluation Programme and the establishment of a dedicated Revisions Unit in the Valuation Office.

The Chairperson Designate of the Valuation Tribunal, Ms Carol O'Farrell, who is a currently serving member, had an engagement with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice and Equality yesterday (12 July 2017) in advance of her proposed appointment as chairperson. It is expected that Ms O'Farrell will serve as Chairperson of the Tribunal from 31 July 2017 until her current term as an ordinary member of the Tribunal expires on 20 June 2018.

The Deputy may wish to note that it is anticipated that a number of vacancies as ordinary members of the Valuation Tribunal are expected to arise later in 2017 and these will be advertised for expressions of interest via www.stateboards.ie