Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2014
104. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation his views on whether all senior appointments to taxpayer funded positions in the public service under the remit of his Department, including appointments to State boards, should be publicly advertised; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3199/14]
View answerIn so far as my Department is concerned, all appointments to permanent and pensionable positions should be publicly advertised and subject to open and transparent recruitment mechanisms and that these principles apply to all such permanent and pensionable positions in my Department and its Agencies.
In the case of appointment to positions on State Boards in particular, my priority is to ensure that the boards of agencies within my Department’s remit are composed of individuals with an appropriate level of expertise that allows them make a positive and effective contribution to the work of the agency they serve. To this end, I recently conducted a process in conjunction with the Public Appointments Service in which I invited expressions of interest from members of the public who wish to serve in a position on the boards of agencies within my Department’s remit. I am currently in the process of considering these expressions of interest in terms of their suitability for current and future board vacancies.
