Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:41 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for the Marine if he will give details of the procedure for the appointment of the captain of the Arklow Harbour Board dredger.
Written Answers. - Harbour Board Appointment.
Pat Rabbitte
Ceist:42 Mr. Rabbitte asked the Minister for the Marine if his attention has been drawn to the possible conflict of interest in the appointment of a person (details supplied) in County Wicklow to the Arklow Harbour Board, as the person concerned is a paid employee of the harbour board.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 42 together.
The appointment of the master of the Arklow Harbour Board dredger is a matter for Arklow Harbour Commissioners and I have no function in the matter. I understand, however, that the master of the dredger is employed by Arklow Harbour Commissioners for approximately six months each year on a temporary and seasonal basis.
The master of the dredger was recently nominated by me to the board of Arklow Harbour Commissioners. Section 19 (1) (d) of the Harbours Act, 1946 provides that a person shall be disqualified from being appointed, elected or nominated or being a member of a harbour authority if he holds any paid office under the harbour authority. Legal advice obtained by me states that the master of the dredger is an employee and not disqualified under section 19 (1) (d) from being a member of Arklow Harbour Commissioners.
The Deputy has drawn attention to a possible conflict of interest on the part of the master of the dredger by virtue of the fact that he is a commissioner as well as an employee. In this regard I should advise the Deputy that I recently wrote to the chairmen of all the harbour boards, including Arklow, with a view to ensuring that the highest standards of personal integrity are followed by all board members and requesting them to review existing procedures and systems intended to ensure the desired standards of conduct.