Taoiseach defends appointment of NewEra director
It came after Independent TD Shane Ross questioned the manner in which the director had been selected.
“The procedure was as follows: There was none,” Mr Ross said.
But the Taoiseach said he was “happy” that the director, Eileen Fitzpatrick of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA), was “eminently qualified” for the job.
The Government last week announced the establishment of NewEra to manage its shareholdings in semi-state companies and consider the sale of those stakes.
It has been established as a unit within the NTMA, the state body that handles the national debt, with Dr Fitzpatrick appointed director.
But in the Dáil yesterday, Mr Ross queried why such an important position had not been advertised.
“There was no advertising, competition or interview and the NTMA, which for some reason has been given charge of NewERA refused to reveal the salary of the person appointed.
“For a chief executive or director of a state body to be appointed in this way is completely unacceptable.
“The result — the appointment by the NTMA of one of its insiders — indicates that little has changed in the appointment of persons under the new Government.”
Mr Ross said that senior figures in the NTMA were extremely well paid, with some salaries between €300,000 and €400,000, and it was “completely unacceptable” that Dr Fitzpatrick’s salary was not revealed.
He said NewEra was in charge of the sale of state assets, rather than fund management, the area in which Dr Fitzpatrick previously specialised.
“I have not seen any evidence that anybody in the NTMA is qualified to advise or give directions on the sale of state assets,” he said.
The Taoiseach said the “internal process of appointment” applied and that Dr Fitzpatrick was “eminently qualified to do the job”.
Meanwhile, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin criticised the Government for departing from its election promises in relation to NewEra.
Prior to the election, Fine Gael had promised that NewEra would invest €18 billion in infrastructure over four years and create 105,000 jobs in the process.
But the unit announced last week is a significantly slimmed-down version of that plan, with no investment estimates or job targets produced.
Mr Martin claimed that last week’s announcement represented a “fundamental breach of a clear promise” by Fine Gael.
But Mr Kenny said the coalition was now operating on the basis of the Programme for Government agreed between his party and Labour rather than their respective election manifestos.
