TO THE victor the spoils of political office. But some of the appointments made by governments – present and past – to State boards and agencies have illustrated the clear defects of that spoils system. In some cases the political affiliation of those appointed has mattered more than their suitability or their professional qualification for a board position. All parties in government have engaged in the practice, particularly at the end of their tenure. And all parties in opposition have railed against it, while promising to reform the system in government. But the record speaks for itself.
Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar, on the basis of answers to parliamentary questions about appointments to State boards by Fianna Fáil ministers in recent weeks, has accused that party of “stuffing State boards with friends and political party supporters” in the dying days of this administration. If elected to government, he said, Fine Gael would ask members of State boards to resign within six months. The appointments he has criticised were made to bodies such as the Pensions Board, Health and Safety Authority, Competition Authority and Labour Relations Commission. But as Minister for Social Protection Éamon Ó Cuív pointed out, the majority of appointees to the Pensions Board are nominated by representative organisations with pensions expertise, as required by the Pensions Act.
By making such a sweeping political charge which may have justification in some instances, Mr Varadkar has also unfairly cast a slur on the good name of the majority of board members who are there on merit and ability and serve in a representative capacity.
However, there is a clear need for reform of the system of appointment to State bodies and agencies. That has been amply illustrated in recent times by the failure of some of these boards to protect the public interest, by checking an abuse of power by some executives in State agencies. The terms of the renewed programme for government provides for legislation to establish a more transparent system for public appointments. However, it seems very little progress has been made in advancing that legislation.
In Britain, there is a code of practice for ministerial appointments to public bodies which sets out the principles to be observed and followed – including selection based on merit, on independent scrutiny and on openness and transparency. It is difficult to see why legislation is needed in Ireland when a similar code of practice for such public appointments could be introduced here.