All vacancies for State Boards for which this Department has responsibility are available to be viewed on the Department's website at www.dttas.ie
A number of individuals were considered before Ms. Liz O'Donnell was selected to fill the post of Chair of the Road Safety Authority, vacated by Mr. Gay Byrne. Ms O'Donnell came to attention having expressed an interest in serving on a State Board via the Board Diversity Initiative. The Initiative provides a bridge between Boards and women candidates. It was established in 2010 to address a perception that there was, and is, a shortage of talented women candidates for non-executive director positions in Ireland.
Arising from the initiative, a panel of suitably qualified women was created and is available to chairpersons, nominating committees and others involved in the appointment of directors. Since the launch of the initiative, more than 30 women on the panel have been appointed to Irish boards.
Before deciding to appoint Ms.O'Donnell as Chair of the RSA, I met with her to determine her suitability for and interest in the role.