I move amendment No. 18:
In page 11, to delete lines 23 to 31 and substitute the following:
"(2) The members of An Foras shall be appointed in the following manner:
(a) The Minister shall submit the names of 11 people to the Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment.
(b) A person to whom paragraph (a) applies shall on the request of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, which shall occur within 30 days of the nomination under paragraph (a), on the request of that Committee, give evidence to the Committee on—
(i) his or her suitability for appointment to the position of member of An Foras,
(ii) his or her qualifications for appointment to the position of member of An Foras,
(iii) such other matters pertaining only to the appointment of a member of An Foras.
(c) The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment shall be required to approve or decline the nomination of a person under paragraph (a) to the Minister within 7 days of the evidence under paragraph (b) having been completed.
(d) Where the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment approves the nomination of a person under paragraph (c) the Minister shall order their appointment by resolution of Dáil Éireann.
(e) Where the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment declines the nomination of a person under paragraph (c), it shall be required to state to the Minister the reasons for its decision in subsequent private session of that Committee, where requested by the Minister.
(f) Where the Committee declines the nomination of a person under paragraph (c), the Committee may recommend two persons, who have not already been nominated under this section, for consideration in respect of each outstanding vacancy.
(g) Where the Committee declines the nomination of a person under paragraph (c), the Minister shall nominate two persons, who have not already been nominated under this section, for consideration in respect of each outstanding vacancy. In making a nomination under this paragraph, the Minister shall first have regard to the recommendation made by the Committee under paragraph (f).
(h) Where the Committee declines the nomination of a person under paragraph (c), and the Minister makes a submission under paragraph (g), the Committee may invoke its powers under paragraph (b) in respect of the alternative nominees.
(i) Where the Committee declines the nomination of a person under paragraph (c), and the Minister makes a submission under paragraph (g), the Committee shall be required to make a recommendation from the alternative candidates submitted under paragraph (g) to fill the remaining vacancies on An Foras.
(j) The Chairperson of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment shall, with the approval of that Committee, nominate one of the appointed members as Chairperson of An Foras.”.
The purpose of these amendments is to give the Oireachtas a role in deciding the composition of the new board of FÁS. The Bill represents an improvement but it is not right that the Minister should have carte blanche to appoint almost anyone she likes. In different ways these amendments give the various Oireachtas committees a role in deciding on how the board is constituted. Amendment No. 18 is the best example but it is probably the most complicated as well. It requires that the Minister would make her appointments and that they would then be vetted by an Oireachtas committee. If any of the appointees is not considered to be acceptable then the Minister would have an opportunity either to make alternative nominations or the committee itself could select a panel of nominees from which the Minister could choose.
The amendment I would push to a vote is No. 21, which is interesting in the sense that it is exactly the process chosen by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Eamon Ryan, for the new Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. It is an inferior model to the one I propose but it is one the Greens should be able to support. Therefore, I intend to press amendment No. 21.