Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
1492. Deputy Micheál Martin asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he is satisfied that all public appointments that come within the remit of his responsibilities have followed Government guidelines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24331/16]
View answerFrom a HR perspective, my Department recruits almost all staff through the Public Appointment Service (PAS). PAS recruits for the Civil and Public Service and its recruitment campaigns are operated in compliance with the Codes of Practice for Public service appointments. When an urgent need to fill a vacancy arises and PAS is not in a position to schedule a competition, my Department may decide to run the competition itself; the Department has a recruitment licence and always proceeds in accordance with the Public Appointments Service (PAS) guidelines.
Internal promotion competitions and any other competitions run by my Department are also operated in compliance with the Code of practice for Public service appointments.
The position in relation to the filling of vacancies on the boards of State Bodies under the aegis of my Department is that, other than those filled on the basis of nominations from specified organisations as stipulated in legislation, vacancies are advertised on www.stateboards.ie and processed in accordance with the Public Appointments Service (PAS) guidelines.
The appointment of Chief Executive Officers to the State Bodies under the aegis of my Department is a matter for the Board of each State Body, subject to my approval and that of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform as required in the relevant legislation. The guidelines for such appointments are issued by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Exceptions have occasionally been made based on business imperatives, subject to obtaining the necessary consent.
