Vol. 423 No. 6
3 Mr. Shatter asked the Minister for Justice the steps, if any, he proposes to take to re-appoint the Censorship of Publications Board; and the reason for the delay in appointing a board to replace its original which went out of office in November, 1991.
I am pleased to inform the House that I have this week appointed a new Censorship of Publications Board.
I should like to ask the Minister why the Censorship of Publications Board ceased to function since November 1991 and why a new board were not appointed immediately upon the previous board ending their term of office?
I take responsibility for that. There are many things to be attended to in these cases. In boards of this kind I like to have a personal input. I have had a personal input and I hope the Deputy will be supportive of my point of view when the board are functioning.
I will try to dispose of the remaining questions in the Deputy's name if time permits.
I have one final supplementary question. Would the Minister agree that appointing members to a censorship board is not so complex as to require 11 months of consideration after the term of office of the old board expired? It is an extraordinary gaffe to have failed to appoint the membership of such a board until the matter was raised in the national press this week. Can the Minister indicate which, if any, of the members he has appointed to the board come from Mayo and the names of the people?
I certainly have given it my personal attention so far as the consideration of those who should make up the board are concerned. There is nobody from Mayo.
That is a surprise.
It will shock their sensitivities.
Question No. 5 please.
I do not know whether I have all the constituencies here but there may be one from the Deputy's constituency. I am not sure.
