OPINION:Independent committee should decide on State jobs, not ministers
W HILE THE Government’s recent memorandum on appointments to State boards is a welcome starting point in the much promised and needed reform of the process, there is still some way to go to achieving real and significant change in the system.
In future, all vacancies on State boards will be advertised and open to members of the public – a positive move which demonstrates a commitment by the Government to increasing transparency and, on the face of it, heralding an end to the perception of a closed-shop system.
Yet while this provision represents a first step in reforming the existing structure, there is a mood for greater change among the public.
More specifically, there is a definite appetite among board members in Ireland for more radical changes to be implemented and for an overhaul of the way appointments to the boards of State bodies are made.
Research conducted by Behaviour Attitudes among members of the Institute of Directors in Ireland, which was carried out earlier this month, found that an overwhelming eight in 10 (84 per cent) directors surveyed favour appointments being made to State boards by a State boards appointments committee which would be independent of the political system.
In addition, 81 per cent of institute members who sit on State boards are also in favour of this approach, with fewer than one in 10 (7 per cent) directors in favour of appointments being made by an all-party Oireachtas committee.
The research also found that just 4 per cent of those surveyed are in favour of maintaining the status quo.
This research should give the Government something to consider, particularly as the results clearly show that directors and board members of State bodies in Ireland are supportive of change and that an appointments process entirely independent of the political system is the preferred way to achieve that change.
While the proposed requirements for board positions to be advertised and for candidates for the role of chairperson to be scrutinised by an Oireachtas committee will both enhance transparency, it is questionable as to how effective the reforms will be given the final decision on board appointments still lies with the relevant minister, and in the case of candidates for chairperson, the committee has no power of veto.
Alternatively, by removing all appointments from the political system and establishing an independent State boards appointments committee, the Government can still create transparency, but also ensure charges of cronyism and political patronage become a thing of the past.
Such a committee could operate under the aegis of the existing Commission for Public Service Appointments infrastructure and therefore would not create another layer of bureaucracy, but rather introduce a far more transparent and accountable approach, which would result in better functioning boards.
The time is ripe for the Government to demonstrate real commitment to reforming the process and to putting in place long-term solutions.
These positions are some of the most important and influential in the country and if we want to get the best people on to these boards, with the appropriate mix of skills and expertise, then we need to ensure that we have a politically independent and fully open and transparent system in place.
What is equally important, and should be considered at the outset, is that each State body prepare a detailed specification of the skills, qualities and expertise needed by its board of directors and this should be referred to when advertising, selecting and appointing candidates.
Identifying the skills needed on the board in the first instance and referring to those when selecting and appointing candidates is an obvious first step, yet when asked whether or not their board has a skills framework in place which is referred to when appointing people to the board, 45 per cent of those directors surveyed who sit on State boards admit there is no such framework in place.
Every State board should have a skills framework that is a matter of public record, and when appointments are made to these boards, reference should be made to that framework, particularly and explicitly in relation to the individual appointed.
That way we can ensure that the most suitably qualified and appropriate individuals are appointed on the basis they possess the requisite skills and expertise required, and there is also a clear rationale available as to why people are appointed to particular boards.
Given the degree of importance and influence of State agencies, especially major ones, to the economy, the Government must demonstrate to the public that it can resolve this issue, that it can go the distance in terms of implementing the reforms needed and that it will get this right once and for all.
Maura Quinn is chief executive of the Institute of Directors in Ireland