Written answers
Tuesday, 13 May 2025
Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment
Departmental Bodies
James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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543. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to confirm that for each year between 2020 and 2025, in respect of the boards of bodies under the aegis of his Department (details supplied), the board has terms of reference; where that is not the case, to identify that body, by reference to the year or years when no terms of reference existed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24240/25]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The following bodies identified by the Deputy in this PQ do not have Boards: the Labour Court, the Companies Registration Office, the Registry of Friendly Societies, the Register of Beneficial Owners, the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
The bodies listed in the table below, do have boards, and have provided the following information:
| WRC | The WRC had a term of reference in place for 2020.Further to this, the Board prepare and submit to the Minister a strategy statement every three years, and a work programme, annually. |
|---|---|
| LEO | The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are Business Units within the 31 Local Authorities and are not an Office or Agency under the aegis of the Department. Enterprise Ireland are the relevant agency for the LEOs. |
| IDA | IDA confirms that the Board has had a terms of reference for the 2020 – 2025 period based on the existence of the Corporate Governance Manual. |
| DCCI | DCCI has a Corporate Governance Manual in place for each Board director, this manual includes all terms of references, duties & responsibilities. |
James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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544. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to confirm that for each year between 2020 and 2025, in respect of the boards of bodies under the aegis of his Department (details supplied), at least one member of the audit and risk committee of that board has recent, relevant financial experience for each of those years; where that is not the case, to identify that body, by reference to the year or years when no such member existed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24241/25]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The following bodies identified by the Deputy in this PQ do not have Boards: the Labour Court, the Companies Registration Office, the Registry of Friendly Societies, the Register of Beneficial Owners, the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
My Department does not hold a central record of the qualifications of each board member of the state bodies under my remit.
Please see returns in the table below:
| WRC | The WRC Board’s qualification requirements are prescribed in schedule 3 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, requiring board members to be representative of the interests of employees, employers and experts in workplace relations, resolution of disputes, employment law and equality law. The WRC does not require financial experience on its Board as the Board has no fiduciary responsibilities. |
|---|---|
| LEO | The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are Business Units within the 31 Local Authorities and are not an Office or Agency under the aegis of the Department. Enterprise Ireland are the relevant agency with oversight of the LEOs. Enterprise Ireland, between 2020 and 2025, had at least one member of the audit and risk committee with recent, relevant financial experience. |
| IDA | For the period 2020 – 2025, IDA has had at least one committee member on the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee with recent relevant financial experience. |
| CCPC | CCPC can confirm that at least one member of the CCPC’s Audit and Risk committee had recent, relevant financial experience for each of those years. |
| DCCI | DCCI can confirm that at least one member of the Audit & Risk Committee is a qualified Accountant |
James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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545. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to identify, by body name and associated skills gap, any skills gaps identified by the chairperson of that board in correspondence to his Department or a Minister (details supplied) in respect of the composition of the board of the body referred, for each year between 2020 and 2025, in tabular form; to identify any body where the chairperson of that board never identified skills gaps to his Department or a Minister, by year and body; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24242/25]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The appointment of persons to state boards is advertised clearly on publicjobs with an interview booklet for each competition. My department liaises closely with the bodies under it remit well in advance of when a vacancy arises to be filled. The public bodies follow a process with the Department of identifying and detailing required for these roles including the skill sets for new and replacement Board members. The Chairperson provides a list of essential or desirable skills for vacant posts for the Minister’s information.
Public bodies under my remit also carry out regular Board effectiveness reviews as per the Code of Practice for the Governance for State Bodies which also provide for an opportunity for relevant skills reviews.
The following bodies identified by the Deputy in this PQ do not have Boards: the Labour Court, the Companies Registration Office, the Registry of Friendly Societies, the Register of Beneficial Owners, the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
See returns from the highlighted agencies, offices and bodies below in tabular form:
| WRC | The WRC Board’s skill set requirements are prescribed in schedule 3 of the Workplace Relations Act 2015, requiring board members to be representative of the interests of employees, employers and experts in workplace relations, resolution of disputes, employment law and equality law. Appointees to the WRC Board were recruited via open competition conducted by the Public Appointments Service (PAS). |
|---|---|
| LEO | The Local Enterprise Offices (LEOs) are Business Units within the 31 Local Authorities and are not an Office or Agency under the aegis of the Department. Enterprise Ireland are the relevant agency for the LEOs. |
| IDA | The Chairperson has not indicated any skills gap to the Minister of DETE during the period 2020 to 2025. IDA’s Organisational Development Committee (a sub-committee of IDA’s Board) consider board composition (which includes skills) on an ongoing basis. Skills are also considered as part of the board effectiveness review which is conducted on an annual basis. These matters are reported to the Board which includes a DETE representative Board member. When a Board vacancy occurs, attention is given to specific skills and experience needs at that particular time, which are reflected in the Public Appointments Service specification booklet as part of the State Boards appointment process. |
| DCCI | DCCI can confirm that a skills analysis is carried out by a sub-committee of the Board on a regular basis, especially when there are directors vacancies. |
James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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546. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of members of boards in each body under the aegis of his Department (details supplied) that have a professional accounting qualification, for each of the years 2020 to 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24243/25]
Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not hold a central record of the qualifications of each board member of the agencies, offices and bodies under my remit.
The following bodies identified by the Deputy in this PQ do not have Boards: the Labour Court, the Companies Registration Office, the Registry of Friendly Societies, the Register of Beneficial Owners, the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.
For the agencies, bodies and offices under my remit that have a Board; when appointing a new member of a Board, the public bodies follow a process with the Department of identifying and detailing information required for these roles, including the skill sets for new and replacement Board members. The Chairperson provides a list of essential or desirable skills for vacant posts for the Minister’s information. Board members are then recruited in line with the specific skills needs of the Board.
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