asked the Minister for Agriculture if he will state (a) the manner in which he appoints the members of the Agricultural Wages Board and the representatives on the regional advisory boards, and (b) the functions of the neutral members of the board.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Appointments to Agricultural Wages Board.
Members of the Agricultural Wages Board and of the agricultural wages area committees are nominated by me in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Agricultural Wages Act, 1936.
The executive functions of the neutral members of the board do not differ from those of the employers' and workers' members. The principal functions of the board are the fixing of minimum rates of wages for agricultural workers and the general administration of the provisions of the Agricultural Wages Acts, 1936 and 1945.
Might I ask the Minister if there has been any change in the method of nominating members of these boards by him as different from his predecessor?
None whatever. I think the position is that the nominees of my predecessor were the first to be made and they automatically went out of office at the end of the three-year period for which they were nominated and I was then charged with the responsibility of nominating the local committees and the wages board. The chairman of the board holds his office at the pleasure of the Minister for Agriculture for the time being. My predecessor's nominee continues to occupy that position.