Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 23 September 2014
48. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Taoiseach the total number of appointments to State boards since March 2011 under the aegis of his Department; the total number of appointments that have been advertised on his Department’s website. [35510/14]
View answerAs follows:
National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO)
NESDO is the body corporate for the National Economic and Social Council (NESC). The Board compromises ex-officio the Chair and Deputy Chair of the NESC, both of whom are civil servants from my Department.
The National Statistics Board
Section 18 of the Statistics Act 1993 sets out the composition and procedures for appointing the National Statistics Board. It states:
The National Statistics Board shall consist of eight members comprising the following seven persons who shall be appointed by the Taoiseach:
› five persons of proven ability and experience in relevant fields - two of whom shall be nominated by the Taoiseach and three of whom shall be nominated by such organisation or organisations as the Taoiseach considers to be representative of the users of official statistics and providers of information under this Act
› Assistant Secretary or equivalent or higher grade in the Department of the Taoiseach
› Assistant Secretary or equivalent or higher grade in the Department of Finance together with the Director General, ex-officio.
Since 2011 there have been 9 appointments to the NSB.
One vacancy was filled by an Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Taoiseach in 2012.
The Board's term expired in 2013 and the Chairperson, two Civil Servants and the ex-officio member (Director General of the Central Statistics Office) were re-appointed. The remaining four positions were advertised on the Department of the Taoiseach and NSB websites and the vacancies were filled in 2014.
