Appointments to State Boards

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 January 2012

Tuesday, 31 January 2012

Ceisteanna (47)

Gerry Adams

Ceist:

88 Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a breakdown of the number of appointments that have been made to State boards by him since he took office, including the names of the appointees and the boards they have been appointed to; the number of these appointments that have been made using new procedures involving the advertising of such posts on his Department’s websites and the interview of the chairperson of boards by Oireachtas committee; if he will highlight situations in which this process has not occurred; and the reason it has not occurred in each case. [5051/12]

Freagraí scríofa

The Taoiseach

The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) is an advisory Council which provides guidance to Government on strategic issues for Ireland's economic and social development. Details of the appointments I have made to the NESC since coming into office on 9 March, 2011 are set out in the accompanying table.

The appointments were made in accordance with the provisions of the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006 as amended by the National Economic and Social Council (Alteration of Composition) Order 2010. In the particular case of the NESC, I should emphasise that most of the members are appointed on the basis of nominations received from representative organisations. Historically, the Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson posts are filled from my Department at Secretary General and Assistant Secretary level. I am satisfied that the other appointments were appropriate, bearing in mind the key strategic role of the NESC.

Table : Appointments by the Taoiseach to the National Economic and Social Council

Name	Organisation	Date of Appointment
Prof. Edgar Morgenroth,	Associate Research Professor, Economic and Social Research Institute	June 2011
Prof. John McHale,	Economist, National University of Ireland, Galway	June 2011
Prof. Mary Daly,	Department of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queen’s University Belfast	June 2011
Prof. Anna Davis,	Department of Geography, Trinity College Dublin	June 2011
Prof. Seán Ó Riain,	Department of Sociology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth	June 2011
Dr. Michael O’Sullivan,	Head of UK Research and Global Asset Allocation, Credit Suisse, London	June 2011
Ms Mary Walsh,	Charted Accountant	June 2011
Dr. Michelle Morris,	Senior Lecturer, School of Applied Social Science, University College Dublin.	July 2011
Mr. Martin Fraser, Chairperson of NESC	Secretary General, Department of the Taoiseach	August 2011
Shay Cody	Impact (replaced Mr. Peter McLoone)	September 2011
Mr. John Murphy	Secretary General, Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (replaced Mr. Sean Gorman)	November 2011
Mr. John Shaw, Deputy Chairperson of NESC	Assistant Secretary, Department of the Taoiseach	January 2012