Press release
Outcome announced of procurement process for review of Údarás na Gaeltachta Board
From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
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From Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media
Published on
Last updated on
Catherine Martin, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Jack Chambers, Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport today announced the outcome of their department’s self-procurement process to undertake a review of the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta.
It is intended that the consultancy firm BDO, in conjunction with Dr Bríd Quinn, will undertake the review and the results of the work will be available in the autumn.
Minister Martin said:
"A commitment was made in the Programme for Government to review the selection and election process in relation to the Board of Údarás na Gaeltachta. I am pleased that the department has now identified a team to undertake the review, and that recommendations will be available in due course."
Minister of State Chambers said:
"We very much welcome the start of this review. The aim of the process is to ensure that Údarás na Gaeltachta has access to the relevant expertise and skills necessary for the operation of the Board. This is in the interest of An tÚdarás as a state body and the community it serves."
Board members are currently appointed following a selection/nomination process. The majority of the members were elected by the public to the Board until 2012, when the number of members was reduced from 20 to the current 12, in line with the relevant provisions of the Gaeltacht Act 2012.
Under the current arrangement, the board consists of five members nominated by Local Authorities with Gaeltacht area in their operational area, as well as seven other members selected based on a public competition organised under the auspices of the Public Appointments Service (PAS). The Chairman of the Board is appointed by the Minister.
The current Údarás na Gaeltachta Board was appointed in January 2018 and its term will expire in January 2023.
Two separate competitions were organised under the auspices of the Office of Government Procurement to seek a consultancy for the review of the Údarás na Gaeltachta Board. They were held in July 2021 and December 2021. Those particular efforts failed when no company offered to provide the service.
To drive the review forward and taking into account the failure of the procurement process, the department undertook a self-procurement process to allow the review to progress. It was undertaken on a self-procurement basis on the advice of the Office of Government Procurement.
Until October 2018, Dr Quinn was Lecturer in Public Administration at the University of Limerick, specialising in local governance, European Union (EU) regional and territorial policies, multi-level governance and administrative reform.
She has long been involved in local and regional development activities and evaluation, being an Irish member of the Council of Europe Group of Independent Experts. She has worked in consultancy in Ireland, Europe and Tanzania and participated in a range of EU research projects; she was involved in the PROSEPS (Professionalisation and Social Impact of European Political Science) project, and collaborated with the AILG (Association of Irish Local Government).