Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 October 2016
579. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the status of the recruitment of a new chief executive officer for Fáilte Ireland; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the recruitment process was not run through the Public Appointments Service; his views on whether this is good practice; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32068/16]
View answer580. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when the contract of the current chief executive officer of Fáilte Ireland will conclude; and the details of the retirement package that the chief executive officer will receive upon leaving the role. [32069/16]
View answer584. Deputy Brendan Ryan asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport the details of the remuneration package of the current chief executive officer of Fáilte Ireland. [32073/16]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 579, 580 and 584 together.
Fáilte Ireland advised that the recruitment process for a new chief executive officer is being carried out by an executive search company, AMROP. The appointment is not yet completed. My Department is currently in discussions with Fáilte Ireland to agree the terms and conditions for this post.
The legislation which governs Fáilte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority Act 2003, provides that the Chief Executive shall be appointed by the Authority with the consent of the Minister (section 31(3)). There is no onus on Fáilte Ireland to engage the Public Appointments Service for this recruitment process. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform stipulated that the appointment be made by open competition.
The contract for the current chief executive officer expires on the 31st December 2016. The information requested by the Deputy in relation to the Chief Executive's remuneration package is available in the Annual Report and Accounts of the Agency. As the 2015 Report is not yet published however I can confirm that the chief executive officer's salary in 2015 was €150,010. No bonus is payable. The chief executive officer is a member of the unfunded (formerly CERT) contributory pension and death benefits plan. I do not have the details of the pension benefits to hand and will forward the details to the Deputy as soon as possible.
