The information requested is as follows:
Forfás
Mr John Murphy, Secretary General of the Department was appointed to the Board of Forfás with effect from 18th January 2012.
The Industrial Development legislation provides that the Director General of Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) serves on the board of Forfás. Professor Mark Ferguson therefore became a member of the Forfas Board on taking up his position with SFI with effect from 18th January 2012.
The new procedures were not utilized in the case of either appointment. The SFI post is an ex officio appointment provided for in legislation. It has been the custom to appoint the Secretary General of the Department to the board of Forfás for reasons of policy cohesion and corporate governance.
National Standards Authority of Ireland Board (NSAI)
Helen Curley, a Principal Officer in my Department, was appointed on 8 July 2011. Ms Curley resigned from the Board on 15 November 2011, as due to an internal transfer she was no longer responsible for the NSAI policy area.
National Consumer Agency
Ms Isolde Goggin was appointed to the Board of the National Consumer Agency in November 2011.
While this appointment was not made using the new procedures Ms Goggin's appointment as Chairperson of the Competition Authority and CEO designate of the new body which will be established on foot of the merger of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency reflects the Government's commitment to the rationalisation of State agencies.
PIAB
Two appointments were made to the Personal Injuries Assessment Board (PIAB).
One was the re-appointment of Ms Ann Fitzgerald in her capacity as Chief Executive of the National Consumer Agency, which is a statutory position on the Board. Therefore the post was not advertised.
In the case of the second appointment, it was considered appropriate to have a representative from the Department on the Board and Ms Breda Power, Assistant Secretary, was appointed. Given the nature of this appointment, the post was not advertised on the Department's website.
Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority
Seven appointments were made to the Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority (IAASA). Mr. Dave Martin and Mr. Kevin O'Donovan were both appointed as Nominees of the Prescribed Accountancy Bodies on the 26 May 2011. Ms Sylvia McNeece of the Irish Pension Board, Ms Deirdre Behan of the Revenue Commissioners, Ms Mairead Devine, of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation and Mr. Sean Hawkshaw of the Central Bank were all appointed as Nominees of the Designated Bodies on the 3rd January 2012.
As these appointments were made in compliance with the Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Act 2003 it was not appropriate to advertise the posts.
IDA
I have recently made the following two appointments to the Board of the IDA:
Alan W. Gray and Mary Campbell.
Neither appointment was made using the new procedures. In this respect, the Deputy will be aware that Government policy is to introduce greater transparency in the appointment process. In line with this policy and in an effort to broaden the pool of suitable candidates for consideration for appointment to boards, I sought expressions of interest last summer from suitably qualified people for appointment to the boards of several agencies under my Department's remit. I made it clear in advertising those vacancies that I would not be restricted to only those who responded to the advert. I intend to launch another expressions of interest campaign in the near future in respect of further vacancies that have arisen or that are due to arise over the coming months. In this respect, my overriding focus is to find the best people for particular board appointments. In making appointments I will have regard to the expertise and experience of individuals, the balance of skills and attributes in terms of the overall composition of the board, the gender balance of the board and the availability and commitment of people to serve on the board.
