Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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193. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if his Department has received any complaints, disclosures, or internal correspondence regarding governance concerns, conflicts of interest, or procedural irregularities regarding the recent appointment of a chief executive at a company (details supplied); if he will confirm whether the advertised eligibility requirements were met and whether any independent compliance review was undertaken; if protocols for managing conflicts of interest in semi-State recruitment were followed; whether his Department has considered or reviewed any relevant external governance evaluations or internal board assessments arising from the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50940/25]

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal West, Sinn Fein)
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194. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will set out whether the recent appointment of a chief executive at a company (details supplied) was conducted in full compliance with statutory and advertised criteria; if his Department received or reviewed any complaints, disclosures, or governance evaluations indicating conflicts of interest, procedural irregularities, or board-level disputes; whether protocols on managing conflicts of interest in semi-State recruitment were applied; and if he will publish the Department’s assessment of the process; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50941/25]

Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal East, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 193 and 194 together.

The appointment of the CEO to daa, a Commercial State body under my remit, was made in accordance with applicable legislation and the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies 2016 (the Code), with terms and conditions for the role approved by me and sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.

Recruitment for the position of CEO for daa was undertaken by the Board of Directors by way of open competition, facilitated by an external recruitment specialist.

As outlined in section 13 (8) of the State Airports Act 2004, it is the directors of the company who appoint the CEO.

In accordance with the Code, the delivery of good governance standards across all aspects of the Airports activities is primarily a matter for the board, with my Department providing oversight to ensure good governance is achieved across a broad range of activities, including the process around CEO appointments.

Any conflicts of interest or issues of concern that arise are a matter for the board of the company to evaluate in compliance with the Governance Code of Conduct adopted by the board.

In line with the Code of Practice for the Governance of State Bodies, daa's annual report and financial statements include information on performance evaluations of the Board and its committees. The 2024 and 2023 reports as published on daa's website provide details on the evaluations which took place in those years and note any findings.

In relation to external governance reviews, the Code requires that an external evaluation proportionate to the size and requirements of the State body should be carried out at least every three years. The last external board evaluation of the daa was completed in 2023 and the process for the next review is due to be commenced this year.

There is no obligation on the board to present these reviews to my Department.