Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 11 Mar 2003

Vol. 563 No. 1

Written Answers - Departmental Appointments.

Denis Naughten

Question:

484 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the names of persons from County Roscommon who are currently on State boards under the authority of his Department; the date of their appointment; the duration of their term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6932/03]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following tabular statement:

State Board	Name	Appointment Date	Duration ofAppointment
Interim Parole Board	Daisy O'Reilly	1 April, 2001	Not Specified
Castlerea Prison Visiting Committee	Mary Devine O'Callaghan	20 September, 2002	3 Years
Cloverhill Prison Visiting Committee	Eugene Murphy	7 December, 2000	3 Years
Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee	Pierce Wyse	2 October, 2002	3 Years
Shelton Abbey Place of Detention Visiting Committee	Patrick Kilduff	15 June, 2000	3 Years
St. Patrick's Institution Visiting Committee	Colm O'Donnell	18 December, 2000	3 Years
St. Patrick's Institution Visiting Committee	Hugh Lynn	20 September, 2002	3 Years

I can further inform the Deputy that records held in the courts policy division of my Department in relation to membership of State boards do not contain the place of birth of all persons concerned. However, contact addresses held on file indicate that no member of the courts service board currently resides in County Roscommon.

Denis Naughten

Question:

485 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the names of persons from his constituency whom he has appointed to State boards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6947/03]

Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform (Mr. McDowell)

The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the following tabular statement. The information supplied contains the names of some persons who, while having a business address within my constituency, may not reside within my constituency.

State Board	Name	Date ofAppointment
Courts Service Board	Mr. Gerry McCaughey	9 November, 2002
Legal Aid Board	Ms Noirin Slattery	30 October, 2002
Censorship of Publications Board	Ms Doirbhile Flanagan S.C.	17 February, 2003
Internet Advisory Board	Mr. Paul Durrant (Business address only)	26 February, 2003
Cork Prison Visiting Committee *	Ms Colette Carter	20 September, 2002
Training Unit Place of Detention Visiting Committee *	Ms Geraldine Foster	31 October, 2002
Film's Appeal Board	Mr. Paul O'Higgins Ms Ann Walsh (Business address only)	5 December, 2002
Garda Complaints Board	Mr. Hugh Mohan	6 April, 2003

*I have appointed 84 people to prison visiting committees since becoming Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Of these, only two have been from my constituency.

Members of prison visiting committees are appointed by the Minister for a term not exceeding three years after which they may be re-appointed for a further term or replaced by new members. The maximum number that can be appointed for each institution is twelve. There are no specific criteria used in selecting individuals for appointment and the membership of each committee is drawn from a wide spectrum. This is the long standing practice used by successive Ministers in appointing members.