Ross to change State board appointments process

The Government is to make a number of changes to the way State board appointments are made.

Minister for Transport Shane Ross said he expects adjustments to the current regime to be confirmed within two weeks.

It is understood interviews will take place before names are sent to the Government for appointment to State boards and ministerial discretion will be restricted.

Mr Ross has failed to make 37 State board appointments since entering office due to his deep dissatisfaction at the manner in which members are chosen.

Speaking on Tuesday, the Minister said he did not believe current procedures can continue. “I am absolutely determined it will not be done in the same way it has been done in the past,” he said.

Under the current system, the Public Appointments Service (PAS) advertises vacancies on the State Boards portal. Assessment panels are used to examine all applications and test their suitability.

Final decision

Each Government department is then notified of all candidates that meet the advertised criteria. The Minister in charge then makes the final decision.

Mr Ross has publicly criticised the appointments process and insisted further changes are required.

It is understood he is seeking interviews to be carried out by the PAS before the final names are sent to the Minister.

The Minister wants a limit placed on the number of CVs arriving on his desk, citing a recent situation where 100 names were forwarded to him for two positions.

Mr Ross is also insisting Government Ministers cannot have the discretion or the final say on who is chosen.

A spokesman for the Fine Gael members of Government said there was no concern from his side about abuse of the system. He said significant changes had been made by the previous government that were sufficient.

However, the spokesman said Fine Gael would listen to the concerns raised by Mr Ross and see how they can be addressed.