asked the Minister for Finance the criterion he applied in making his recent new appointment to the board of Irish Life.
23.
Ceisteanna—Questions . Oral Answers . - Irish Life Board Appointment .
22.
asked the Minister for Finance (1) the criteria used when appointing directors to the boards of semi-State bodies; and (2) the reasons why he refused to reappoint a director (name supplied) to the board of Irish Life Assurance Company, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
: I propose, with the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, to take Questions Nos. 22 and 23 together.
Where I have the power to appoint members to the board of a semi-State body I take into account, in making such appointments, the range of experience and general suitability of the appointees, as well as the desirability of ensuring a reasonable rotation of directors.
Apart from my assurance that, in relation to the appointment to which the question relate, I had regard to those criteria, Deputies will appreciate that it would be invidious of me to comment on any particular appointment to the board of a semi-State body.
: Is the Minister aware that the person he sacked from this position worked for the company for six years as general manager, and as chief accountant from 1963? He also served approximately ten years as a director of the company. He has excellent experience and would appear to be ideally suitable. At the annual general meeting, the general manager of the company praised this person the Minister sacked for his unique and valuable contribution to this company. Has the Minister any comments to make?
: I did not sack the person in question. I appointed that person to this board originally when he was an executive of the company. His term of office had expired and I did not renew it. In no way could my failure to renew that appointment be regarded as a reflection on the individual involved. The circumstances are now different from those in which he was appointed by me. I would suggest to the House that the general proposition that if somebody is appointed to a State board he then has some kind of right or entitlement to perpetual renewal of his appointment in the absence of his proving to be unsatisfactory could not be accepted. I think it would be generally agreed that there ought to be some rotation on boards of State companies and, in this case, some contribution towards rotation was being made by the non-reappointment of the person in question.
: Is the Minister aware that this person is politically neutral so far as I could ascertain from inquiries.
: I would be undesirable to enter into that at this stage.
: Is the Minister aware that this person he did not reappoint and who therefore, in my view, was dismissed, is politically neutral? Why did he appoint a Fianna Fáil member of Waterford Corporation in his place? Why did the Minister replace him with a person who is a prominent member of and actively associated with his party?
: I am not aware of the political views of the person I did not reappoint. The person I propose to appoint in his place is eminently suitable and qualified for membership of this board.
: The Minister would hardly say anything else.
: May be the Deputy is unaware of it, but it is a matter of record that the person concerned is eminently suitable for appointment to this board and has achieved considerable stature in his profession which is that of chartered accountant.
: Do not make him blush any further.
: By implication in the question the only apparent unsuitability of the person is that he is a Fianna Fáil man. I am afraid I cannot accept that somebody who is otherwise well qualified should be debarred because he is a Fianna Fáil man. In view of the fact that the question was raised, I must add that even in relation to the board in question quite a number of appointments were made by the previous Government. It is fair to say the person I propose to appoint is at least as well qualified as any of them and a number of them are prominently associated with the Coalition parties. In that context I should remind the House that, during the period after the election and before the change of Government, well over 100 appointments, in the main, to boards in every vacancy they could create or think up. This was done by a Government who had been defeated by the people. If there is to be any question of raising the political affiliations of appointees of this kind, I do not think any Deputy over there can afford to open his mouth.
: While I am pleased to note the Minister has managed to find out the political affiliations of everybody else on the board——
: Not everyone. Only some of the appointees of the opposite side of the House, and they are a matter of record.
:——I am sorry he did not have the opportunity of checking the affiliations of this person. I would ask the Minister to make a further check on Irish Life and he will find that, while we were in Government, we reappointed a person whose political affiliations were known but who had some experience of Irish Life and who was a director.
: We cannot have any further argument about this matter.
: Whatever the Minister wants to say about what we did while we were in Government, does he not think he is retracting a statement he made many years ago in Galway University about low standards in high places? Does the Minister not think he has an obligation to see that these people who are qualified are retained and not sacked and that we should not have this kind of jobbery.
: I am calling the next question.
: It is amazing how the question of jobbery has been brought into this appointment and it was never heard of in connection with any of the other appointments made by Deputies and Ministers over there. I am fully satisfied the person I propose to appoint is fully qualified.
(Cavan-Monaghan): It would take us a fair while to catch up with the Government.
: If Deputies opposite could say the same about all the appointments they made, they would be happy.