Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 3 November 2015
152. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will indicate, in respect of State boards under his Department's remit, the name of each appointee made from 7 March 2011 to date in 2015; the date of appointment; whether or not each appointee came through an advertised public application process; the number of vacancies which currently exist on State boards under his remit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37369/15]
View answerI make appointments to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and the National Statistics Board (NSB).
The NESC provides guidance to Government on strategic issues for Ireland’s economic and social development.
Since coming into office on 9 March 2011, I have made appointments to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) as set out in the table beneath. The appointments are made in accordance with the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006 and S.I. No. 603 of 2010, National Economic and Social Council (Alteration of Composition) Order 2010. There are currently no vacancies on the National Economic and Social Council.
I appoint members specifically on the basis of nominations from business and employer interests, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, farming and agricultural interests, the community and voluntary sector and the environmental sector. I may also appoint up to six public servants of whom at least one shall represent the Taoiseach and one shall represent the Minister for Finance. These appointments represent relevant Departments to ensure NESC's work is integrated with Government policy-making. I also appointed eight independent members to the NESC in 2011, in most cases from the academic sector. These appointments were made following careful consideration of the necessary skills, knowledge and expertise relevant to the functions of the Council as required by the legislation.
Table 1: Details of appointments made by the Taoiseach to NESC since 9 March 2011 are set out in the table beneath.
|
Name |
Organisation |
Date of Appointment |
|
Mr. Martin Fraser, Chairperson of NESC |
Secretary General, Department of the Taoiseach |
August 2011 |
|
Mr. John Shaw, Deputy Chairperson of NESC |
Assistant Secretary, Department of the Taoiseach |
January 2012 |
|
Prof. Edgar Morgenroth |
Associate Research Professor, Economic and Social Research Institute |
June 2011 |
|
Prof. John McHale |
Economist, National University of Ireland, Galway |
June 2011 |
|
Prof. Mary Daly |
Professor of Sociology and Social Policy, Senior Research Fellow of Green Templeton College, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford |
June 2011 |
|
Prof. Anna Davis |
Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin |
June 2011 |
|
Prof. Seán Ó Riain |
Department of Sociology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth |
June 2011 |
|
Dr. Michael O’Sullivan |
Head of Portfolio Strategy and Thematic Research, Credit Suisse, London |
June 2011 |
|
Ms. Mary Walsh |
Chartered Accountant |
June 2011 |
|
Dr. Michelle Norris |
Senior Lecturer, School of Applied Social Science, University College Dublin. |
July 2011 |
|
Mr. Shay Cody |
IMPACT |
September 2011 |
|
Mr. John Murphy |
Secretary General, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation |
November 2011 |
|
Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú |
Secretary General, Department of Education and Skills |
February 2012 |
|
Mr. John Moran |
Secretary General, Department of Finance |
March 2012 |
|
Mr. John McCarthy |
Secretary General of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government |
March 2014 |
|
Mr. Derek Moran |
Secretary General, Department of Finance |
July 2014 |
|
Ms. Karen Murphy |
St Vincent De Paul |
September 2014 |
|
Ms. Patricia King |
ICTU |
March 2015 |
Section 18 of the Statistics Act 1993 provides for the composition of and appointments to the National Statistics Board (NSB). It provides that the NSB 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.
The Chairperson is appointed by the Taoiseach from among the members of the Board.
My functions in relation to the NSB were delegated to the Government Chief Whip, Minister of State Paul Kehoe T.D., on the 22 March 2011. In 2012 an Assistant Secretary from my Department was appointed to the board to fill a vacancy in line with Section 18 of the Act.
The term of membership of the previous board expired in 2013. The Chair and Civil Servants on the Board were reappointed for a new term of three years. Expressions of interest were invited for the four remaining positions on the NSB. These positions were advertised on the websites of the Department of the Taoiseach and the National Statistics Board. In March 2014 Minister of State Kehoe appointed four persons from among the expressions of interest received.
Also in 2014, an Assistant Secretary from the Department of Finance was appointed to replace an Assistant Secretary from that Department on the NSB. There are currently no vacancies on the NSB.
|
Name of Appointee to NSB |
Date of Appointment |
|
Dr. Patricia O’Hara, Chairperson |
October 2013 |
|
Ms. Rowena Dwyer |
March 2014 |
|
Mr. Tom Geraghty |
March 2014 |
|
Dr. Helen Johnston |
March 2014 |
|
Mr. Gerard O’Neill |
March 2014 |
|
Mr. John Callinan, Assistant Secretary, Department of the Taoiseach |
September 2012 October 2013 (Re-appointed) |
|
Mr. John McCarthy, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance |
March 2014 |
|
Mr. Michael McGrath, Assistant Secretary, Department of Finance |
October 2013 |
|
Mr Padraig Dalton, Director General, CSO |
Where appropriate and consistent with the legislation it is intended that future appointments will be advertised on Stateboards.ie
