Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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495. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the State bodies or boards that fall under the remit of her Department; and the number of members of each State body or board that are not qualified within the field in which the board or body has oversight. [43410/17]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I can inform the Deputy that the bodies under the aegis of my Department are the Child and Family Agency (Tusla), the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI), the Ombudsman for Children's Office (OCO) and the Oberstown Children Detention School Campus (OCDC). My Department also provides the primary source of funding for Gaisce, the President's Award. Gaisce is a limited company set up under the Companies Acts. All of these bodies except for the Ombudsman for Children's Office have boards. Details of the boards in question are published on the Stateboards.iewebsite.

The members of the Boards are appointed in line with Government Guidelines on Appointment to State Boards and the governing legislation or, in the case of Gaisce, the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company. This includes any requirements in relation to professional qualifications. An example of this would be the AAI. The Adoption Act 2010 specifies the professional qualifications required of the members of the board. The Guidelines also involve a process whereby my Department, in consultation with the chair of the board, will identify the relevant qualifications and competencies required for a particular board vacancy or across the composition of the Board. The advertisement and selection process under the Government Guidelines, in conjunction with the Public Appointments Services, ensure that these criteria are met.