Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 5 November 2014
125. Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if there is a list of applicants for positions on boards of State bodies in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42456/14]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that two State Bodies which are currently funded by the Exchequer through my Department's vote have governing Boards. These are the Adoption Authority of Ireland, the Child and Family Agency. Since 1st January 2012, the Board of Management for the Children Detention Schools at Oberstown, Co. Dublin, comes under the remit of my Department. I am responsible for appointments to these three Boards.
Up to 31 December 2013 my Department also funded the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board. With the establishment of the Child and Family Agency on 1 January 2014 the Family Support Agency and the National Educational Welfare Board ceased to exist, and their roles were subsumed into the Child and Family Agency. Appointments to their boards ceased with effect from 31 December 2013. In making decisions on appointments to boards, subject to the governing legislation, the most suitable persons are considered for positions with due regard to the body or agency in question and its particular responsibilities. An appropriate mix of skills and experience is an important element of the selection process.
As the Deputy may be aware, in line with the Government decision of April 2011, new arrangements were put in place for the making of appointments to State Boards. Following this Government Decision, a notice was placed on my Department's website inviting expressions of interest from persons interested in being appointed to the boards of State Bodies and Agencies operating under my Department's aegis. The notice indicates the vacancies in the boards of the respective bodies. My officials acknowledge all expressions of interest received and maintain a database of those expressions. My Department’s website is monitored and updated on a regular basis to reflect the number of vacancies as they arise.
In May 2013 the Public Appointments Service (PAS), on behalf of my Department, sought expressions of interest from those interested in being appointed to the Board of the Family Support Agency having regard to both its existing statutory functions and its planned role in facilitating the establishment of the Child and Family Agency. The PAS provided my Department with the details of all suitable candidates who expressed an interest in being appointed to that Board.
