Appointments to State Boards

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 July 2016

Wednesday, 6 July 2016

Questions (231)

Catherine Martin

Question:

231. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Health the number of appointments he has made to State boards since the move to the Public Appointments Service two years ago to date; the names of those appointed and the relevant position on each board; the names of those persons on the shortlist; the date when the shortlist was provided to him; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20068/16]

Written answers

Minister for Health

The nomination and appointment process for boards of bodies under the aegis of my Department is set out in legislation. In line with Government Decision S180/20/10/1617 of 2014 and Guidelines set out by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform relating to the advertising for expressions of interest in vacancies on State Boards, my Department in conjunction with the Public Appointments Service (PAS) currently advertises for board vacancies as they arise, where I, as Minister for Health, have nominating rights under relevant legislation. Appointments through this process commenced in early 2015.

The following table shows the number of appointments that have been made by the Minister for Health, where the Minister has nominating rights and where the positions were advertised through PAS. The date on which the PAS shortlist was given to my Department, rather than the date on which I or previous Ministers for Health received the names of candidates whose names came through the PAS process has been provided in the table.

Board	Name	Position	Date Shortlist provided by PAS to DoH	Date Appointed
Leopardstown Park Hospital	Denis Duff	Ordinary Member	23/12/2014	16/2/2015
Leopardstown Park Hospital	Dermot Magan	Ordinary Member	23/12/2014	16/2/2015
Leopardstown Park Hospital	Francis Ni Fhlannchadha	Ordinary Member	23/12/2014	16/2/2015
St James Hospital	Paul Donnelly	Chairperson	04/2/2015	17/6/2015
Health Information and Quality Authority	Martin Sisk	Ordinary Member	13/5/2015	29/7/2015
Health Information and Quality Authority	Molly Burkley	Ordinary Member	13/5/2015	29/7/2015
Health Information and Quality Authority	Dr Paula Kilbane	Ordinary Member	13/5/2015	29/7/2015
Health Information and Quality Authority	Stephen O'Flaherty	Ordinary Member	13/5/2015	29/7/2015
Childrens Hospital Group Board	John Caulfield	Ordinary Member	26/6/2015	16/9/2015
Irish Blood Transfusion Service	Prof Anthony Staines	Chairperson	15/5/2015	14/7/2015
Irish Blood Transfusion Service	Deirdre Cullivan	Ordinary Member	15/5/2015	20/7/2015
Irish Blood Transfusion Service	John Malone	Ordinary Member	15/5/2015	20/7/2015
Irish Blood Transfusion Service	Dr Ronan Desmond	Ordinary Member	15/5/2015	20/7/2015
Irish Blood Transfusion Service	Simon Mills	Ordinary Member	15/5/2015	20/7/2015
Irish Blood Transfusion Service	Yvonne Traynor	Ordinary Member	15/5/2015	20/7/2015
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland	Ann Sheehan	Ordinary Member	04/6/2015	17/6/2015
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland	Fintan Foy	Ordinary Member	04/6/2015	17/6/2015
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland	Graham Knowles	Ordinary Member	04/6/2015	17/6/2015
Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland	Paul Turpin	Ordinary Member	04/6/2015	17/6/2015
Health Research Board	Bernadette Hannigan	Ordinary Member	31/8/2015	5/11/2015
Health Research Board	Charles Normand	Ordinary Member	31/8/2015	5/11/2015
Health Research Board	Jane Grimson	Ordinary Member	31/8/2015	5/11/2015
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland	Martin Higgins	Ordinary Member	21/9/2015	29/10/2015
Medical Council	Thomas J O'Higgins	Ordinary Member	5/10/2015	28/10/2015
Dental Council	Eleanor O'Higgins	Ordinary Member	12/11/2015	12/1/2016
Dental Council	Gerry Cleary	Ordinary Member	12/11/2015	13/11/2015
Dental Council	James Doorley	Ordinary Member	12/11/2015	12/1/2016
Dental Council	Muireann O'Neill	Ordinary Member	12/11/2015	12/1/2016
Health Products Regulatory Authority	David Holohan	Ordinary Member	10/11/2015	27/1/2016
Health Products Regulatory Authority	Brian Jones	Ordinary Member	10/11/2015	27/1/2016
Food Safety Authority of Ireland	Martin Higgins	Ordinary Member	11/1/2016	15/6/2016
Food Safety Authority of Ireland	Ros O'Shea	Ordinary Member	11/1/2016	15/6/2016
Food Safety Authority of Ireland	Mary Cullen	Ordinary Member	11/1/2016	15/6/2016
Food Safety Authority of Ireland	Derek Cunningham	Ordinary Member	11/1/2016	15/6/2016
Health Insurance Authority	Fiona Kiernan	Ordinary Member	4/12/2015	1/2/2016
Health Insurance Authority	James McNamara	Ordinary Member	4/12/2015	1/2/2016
Health Insurance Authority	Sean Coyle	Ordinary Member	4/12/2015	1/2/2016
Health Insurance Authority	Ian Britchfield	Ordinary Member	4/12/2015	20/6/2016

I have not provided the names on the PAS shortlists to the Deputy. This information is covered by personal confidentiality and I also believe that the public interest would not be served by disclosing the names. Persons who may wish to be considered for board membership may be reluctant to come forward into the PAS process if their names were subject to disclosure in circumstances where they were not actually appointed.