Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 March 2022
291. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the status of the review of the organisational and governance structures of Údarás na Gaeltachta, including the selection and election process to the Board as outlined in the Programme for Government [10891/22]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the Programme for Government commits to undertaking a review of the organisational and governance structures of Údarás na Gaeltachta, including the selection/election process to the Board. The overall objective of this review is to ensure that An tÚdarás has access to the relevant and appropriate expertise, skills and community input required in order for the board to efficiently and effectively support the organisation in discharging its functions, to the ultimate benefit of the Gaeltacht communities it serves.
In that regard, the Deputy will be pleased to learn that I announced last week the commencement of a public consultation process in relation to the selection/election process to the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta.
This objective of this public consultation process is to provide an opportunity to individuals and other interested parties to share their opinions and suggestions in writing with my Department between now and Friday the 25th of March in relation to the matter, using the questionnaire published on gov.ie. Submissions received will be published on my Department's website in due course.
In parallel with this consultation process, my Department will continue to engage as appropriate with the Office of Public Procurement in order to advance the appointment of a consultant to undertake the overall review and make recommendations to the Department on the matter in due course. Submissions received on foot of the public consultation process will be taken into account as part of the review. By way of background information in relation to this aspect in particular, the Deputy may be aware that my Department has been working with the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) since the middle of last year in order to progress the appointment of consultants to undertake the review. Tenders have been sought from the market on two separate occasions since last summer but none were received on either occasion. In order to expedite matters, the public consultation element of the process commenced last week, while further efforts will be made to engage a consultancy as outlined.
