Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 25 March 2015
5. Deputy Shane Ross asked the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the average age of chairpersons and non-executive directors of State or partially owned State companies, State bodies, semi-State bodies and State agencies under the aegis of his Department on the State's payroll; the number of directors on the board of more than one such body; the number of women; and his plans to make savings in this area. [11978/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis is related to a question I asked before. It is to ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform how many directors are on the board of more than one such body. I am talking about all State bodies. Perhaps the Minister has a reply that applies to himself only, which would be inappropriate, but if he says he can produce the information, that is fine. I also ask how many women are on such boards and the plans, if any, he has to make savings in this area.
The total number of chairpersons and non-executive directors of State or partially-owned State companies within the remit of my Department is two, both of whom are female. As neither the Public Appointments Service nor the Institute of Public Administration asks board members for their ages, I cannot answer that part of the question. Neither of the two people concerned is a member of any other State board. The Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 sets out the process for appointment to the Public Appointments Service.
Every other Department will respond directly to the Deputy with regard to bodies within its remit.
I understand the misunderstanding. Perhaps, however, the Minister might help me a little on a more general level. He stated in answer to the last question that they did not come up for annual review, which is true. They should, but they do not. That is something at which the Minister might look. Will he tell me what evaluation procedures the people concerned come under? The reality is that while he has spelled out that there is a new system in place which is in its infancy, an appointment is ultimately made by the Minister on every occasion. Even in the worst of the publicly quoted companies, under the new code of conduct, all directors must be subjected to an annual evaluation process. It is unsatisfactory, but it is at least a gesture to the need for an evaluation process. I do not know whether that happens annually or if it happens at all in the case of directors of semi-State bodies.
The Deputy will be aware that we enacted legislation last year to put the NewERA entity on a statutory basis. We gave it a statutory role in the evaluation of the capacity of directors of commercial semi-State companies. We also gave it a statutory role in terms of their appointment. I set this out in the new process for appointment. The Deputy will find that anybody appointed to a commercial semi-State company is fit for purpose in meeting the skills set determined by the NewERA entity for that company. Ultimately, the final appointment is made from those deemed to have met the criteria laid down by NewERA and determined by the PAS. The final appointment is made by a Minister, as is right and proper, because he or she is accountable to this House. I would not like to hive it off to someone who was not accountable.
Has the Minister considered handing over to others the power to appoint? Does he have discretion in this case to reject the advice put to him on candidates?
It does not fall to me to make appointments. They are made by the line Minister in the case of each semi-State company, as determined by the grounding legislation used to set up the company. It is a matter for the line Minister to make the final appointment from those on the list. If he or she judges that there is nobody on it who is appropriate or suitable, he or she can go outside it, in which case he or she must make a public statement on it, explaining why those who were shortlisted were not considered appropriate and the person he or she has appointed is. This is all laid out in the guidelines.
