Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 11 Oct 2000

Vol. 523 No. 5

Written Answers. - Ministerial Appointments.

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

173 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will list each appointment or nomination made by him to bodies, boards or organisations under the aegis of his Department since 1 July 2000; the method used by his Department in selecting people for such appointments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21694/00]

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

174 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs the number of appointments made by him to bodies, boards or organisations under the aegis of his Department since taking office; the number of these which were to full-time paid positions and positions in respect of which a fee is paid; the number in respect of which expenses are paid; if he has given considerations to any procedures for an independent system to examine or scrutinise appointments or nominations made by him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21708/00]

Minister for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Cowen):

I propose to take Questions Nos. 173 and 174 together.

The following appointments have been made by me to State bodies under the aegis of this Department since 1 July 2000:

Body	Appointee
Agency for Personal Service Overseas (APSO)	Brendan Rogers, Department of Foreign Affairs
National Committee for Development Education (NCDE)	Ms Aileen Folan
Ireland-United States Commission for Educational Exchange (Fulbright Commission)	Professor Patrick FottrellDr. Maurice BricDr. Don ThornhillDr. Ruth Barrington

Including the foregoing, I have made a total of 27 appointments to State bodies under the aegis of this Department since I took office last January.

None of the appointments is to a full-time paid position. No fees or expenses are paid to the appointees except in the case of one member of the Fulbright Commission who is entitled to claim travel expenses as he resides outside of Dublin.

I am satisfied with the current procedures for making appointments to State bodies under the aegis of my Department which give careful consideration to the qualities, qualifications and expertise of each candidate.

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

175 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Public Enterprise if she will list each appointment or nomination made by her to bodies, boards or organisations under the aegis of her Department since 1 July 2000; the method used by her Department in selecting people for such appointments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21695/00]

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke):

I am to inform the Deputy that since 1 July, 2000, the following appointments have been made to bodies under the aegis of my Department.

Body	Appointment	Method
Aer Lingus Group	Michael Foley(Chief Executive)	Appointed by Minister for Public Enterprise, with consent of Minister for Finance, following his appointment as Chief Executive.
	John O'Donovan(Finance Director)	Appointed by Minister for Public Enterprise, with consent of Minister for Finance, in his capacity as Finance Director.
Electricity Supply Board	Tadhg O'Donoghue	Appointed by Government
	Joe La Cumbre(Vice-Chairman)	First appointed to the Board in 1985 under the Worker Participation Acts and appointed Vice-Chairman by the Government in September 2000.
Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland	Dr. Patrick ConnellanDr. William Blunnie	Both appointed by Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise, with consent of the Minister for Finance.
Bord Gáis Éireann	Gerry Walsh(Chief Executive)	Appointed by Minister of State at the Department of Public Enterprise, with consent of Minister for Finance, following his appointment as Chief Executive.

Ruairí Quinn

Question:

176 Mr. Quinn asked the Minister for Public Enterprise the number of appointments made by her to bodies, boards or organisations under the aegis of her Department since taking office; the number of these which were to full-time paid positions, positions in respect of which a fee is paid; the number in respect of which expenses are paid; if she has given considerations to any procedures for an independent system to examine or scrutinise appointments or nominations made by her; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [21709/00]

Minister for Public Enterprise (Mrs. O'Rourke):

The information sought by the Deputy is in the attached schedule. I wish to point out that all appointments made by me and, in the cases of Bord Gáis Éireann, Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland and the Energy Advisory Board, by the Minister of State, have been made in accordance with existing legislation and have followed the practice and procedures set down by my predecessors.

Department of Public Enterprise

Appointments to Boards since July 1997

Organisation	Total No. of Appointments	No. ofFull-time paid positions	No. of positions for which a fee is paid	No. in respect of which expenses are paid
Aer Lingus (1)	14(of which Chairman was reappointed; one director was appointed in his capacity as Chief Executive; one in his capacity as Finance Director and six in their capacity as Employee Elected Members	0	14	14
Aer Rianta (1)	7(of which one director was appointed in his capacity as Chief Executive; one reappointed as Chairman and three in their capacity as Employee Elected Members)	0	7	7
Organisation	Total No. of Appointments	No. ofFull-time paid positions	No. of positions for which a fee is paid	No. in respect of which expenses are paid
Bord Gáis Éireann (2)	5(of which Chairman was reappointed; one director was appointed in his capacity as Chief Executive)	0	5	5
Bord na Móna (1)	6(of which four were appointed in their capacity as Employee Elected Members	0	6	6
Córas Iompair Éireann (3)	11(of which one director was appointed in his capacity as Chief Executive; one in his capacity as Chief Finance Officer, and four in their capacity as Employee Elected Members)	0	11	11
Electricity Supply Board (3)	7(of which one was appointed in his capacity as Chief Executive; and four in their capacity as Employee Elected Members, of which one was appointed by Government as Deputy Chairman)	0	7	7
Irish Aviation Authority (1)	7(of which one was appointed in his capacity as Chief Executive)	0	7	7
Irish National Petroleum Corporation of Ireland (INPC) (1)	5(of which one was a reappointment).	0	5	5
An Post (1)	5(of which one was elected under the Postal Acts).	0	5	5
Telecom ÉireannNo longer a State company with effect from 1 July 1999 (1)	18(of which one was reappointed Chairman and subsequently appointed Deputy Chairman, four elected as Worker Directors, eight appointed as ordinary directors (of whom two were appointed Chairman), one appointed ESOT representative and one appointed in his capacity as Chief Financial Officer)	0	18	18
Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland (2)	5(of which three were reappointed and one of whom was made Chairman)	0	5	5
Energy Advisory Board (2)	17	0	0	17

Note 1: Appointments made by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

Note 2: Appointments made by the Minister of State with the consent of the Minister for Finance.

Note 3: Appointments made by the Government.

The fees payable to directors of State bodies vary from £2,500 per annum to £7,500 in the case of chairmen, except in the case of CIE, ESB and An Post where the chairmen are paid £80,000 in the case of CIE and £25,000 each in the case of ESB and An Post where the chairmen are in part-time positions.

I appointed a Commissioner for Electricity Regulation in September 1999 in accordance with the provisions of the Electricity Regulation Act, 1999. The competition for the post of commissioner was run independently by the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission.

I also appointed an interim Commissioner for Aviation Regulation in November 1999 in accordance with the provisions contained in the Aviation Regulation Bill, 2000. The competition for this post was also run independently by the Civil Service and Local Appointments Commission. The respective commissioner's remuneration has been approved by me and they are entitled to be reimbursed expenses in accordance with the entitlements of established civil servants.

I announced on 15 March 2000 the nomination of the prospective board of the independent electricity transmission system operator, to be known as EirGrid. These nominations are not legal appointments and must await the signing of a statutory instrument, expected to be made shortly, which provides for the establishment of EirGrid.

The Director of the Office of the Director of Telecommunications Regulation was reappointed by me on 29 June of this year in accordance with the provisions of section 2 and the First Schedule of the Telecommunications (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1996.

Since July 1997, the seven nominating bodies have each nominated a member for appointment to the Energy Advisory Board; four of these nominees have been changed over the period. In addition to these nominees, the Minister of State has nominated one person.

Three places on the board are heldex-officio. These are reserved for the director of the Irish Energy Centre, and for two officials from the Department of Public Enterprise. These officials have changed over the period.