When the Government took office in 2011, it promised a departure from the stroke politics and cronyism which had permeated past Fianna Fáil Administrations. At the time, An Taoiseach went so far as to describe the election of this Government as a democratic revolution. Nevertheless, here we are in 2014 and we can see that An Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, has clearly bought into the politics of the past with his nomination of Mr. John McNulty to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in order to facilitate him as a Fine Gael candidate in the upcoming Seanad by-election. It appears that at least An Taoiseach regards the use of State appointments as an appropriate way to bolster the qualification of his candidate ahead of this election. It is a case of jobs for the boys.

Yes.

Given the stink of cronyism that hangs around this turn of events, will the Labour Party fall in behind Fine Gael once again and support Mr. McNulty's nomination? Does the Tánaiste support An Taoiseach in his actions and will her Labour Party colleagues support and vote for Mr. McNulty?

It is not usual or acceptable in this House, by tradition, to name individuals from outside the House who are not here to defend themselves. I ask Members to respect that practice.

Stick to the cronyism.

You have a great habit of interfering in things in which you hold no interest. You are too smart.

The practice has been that if a vacancy arises in the Seanad from one of the Government parties, the party from which the vacancy arises would nominate a person to fill the vacancy. Deputy McDonald would be familiar with the parallel practice for city and county councils, as well as the European Parliament. When people from the Deputy's party have stood down and a vacancy arose, the party would have nominated people to fill the vacancy. We are talking about a standard practice relating to the filling of casual vacancies and with the Seanad, the vacancy would lie with the party from which the vacancy arose. It is consistent with what Sinn Féin has done on previous occasions-----

The Government made the appointment to the board.

-----with city councils and in the European Parliament.

The candidate should be suitably qualified.

All parties and Independents have followed-----

Did the Government participate in the appointment to the board?

-----that practice. Fianna Fáil and Independents have followed the practice in the past. It is the norm.

It is not.

The nomination is a matter for the Fine Gael Party, its leader and its members. It is not a matter for the Labour Party but rather it is for Fine Gael.

Wrong.

It is a matter for the party which has the vacancy and it is for that party to make that nomination.

The Labour Party has facilitated it as part of the Government.

The Deputy should mind his own business. We are dealing with Deputy McDonald's question. The Tánaiste should be allowed to answer as her time is nearly up.

With regard to the Deputy's comment on the gender of the individual, she asked where the Labour Party stands. Of the 11 appointments to the Government from the Labour Party, five of those are women and two of them are at a senior Government level. There are two at the Minister of State level and the Attorney General is also a woman. If the Deputy is trying to throw some dust on the policy of the Labour Party regarding the promotion of women, I suggest she consider the history of the Labour Party. We have a justifiably proud record of promoting women throughout the party. With the Seanad nominations, the number of appointments from the Labour Party - whether on elected panels or otherwise - had a good gender balance, with women featuring prominently.

If the Deputy is asking me to account for the internal practices of Fine Gael, it is a matter for that party, so I suggest the Deputy address her issues to that party. Sinn Féin has been heavily involved in appointing different members of its party to boards when vacancies arose. In the context of its participation in the government in the North, the party has been able to influence appointments. It has been pointed out that the party's current MEP from Dublin, Ms Lynn Boylan, was appointed to safefood Ireland. There is a list of Sinn Féin people who were appointed to boards as vacancies arose. I am sure those people were all eminently qualified.

Unlike the Fine Gael fellow.

Take it easy, Timmy.

I ask people on both sides of the House to respect the ruling of the Chair. I am here as an independent referee and I must enforce time limits. I also remind Deputies that there is a long-standing practice in this House that the business of the Seanad ought not to be discussed. I have allowed latitude because it is a leader's question. This is a matter for the Seanad.

I did not raise the issue of gender.

The Deputy mentioned "jobs for the boys".

I raised something entirely different. I asked the Tánaiste if she approves of and supports the actions of An Taoiseach in using an appointment to a State board to create qualifications for his candidate for an election.

The Deputy cannot make accusations like this in the Chamber.

I have asked the Tánaiste if she supports-----

The Deputy is not allowed to make such accusations. People can make up their own minds about the appointment.

It is just a statement.

It should not be on the record of the House.

I ask the Tánaiste if she supports the manner in which An Taoiseach has managed this affair, which has given rise to considerable public comment and concern. Should State boards be used as a springboard to qualify an individual for a Seanad panel? Is that appropriate?

The Tánaiste says this is a matter for Fine Gael. Appointments of that nature are a matter for Government, as are appointments to State boards. They happen on the watch of the entire Government. Is the Tánaiste satisfied with the manner in which An Taoiseach has conducted this appointment?

In her very lengthy response, which managed not to answer the questions, the Tánaiste described a process of co-option, which is not the case in the Seanad by-election. That is an election. I asked the Tánaiste whether she and her colleagues in the Labour Party-----

This is not a matter to discuss here.

-----would support and vote for the Fine Gael candidate. These are the questions I am asking.

The Deputy has no right to stand up in the Chamber and ask people from whom they are going to vote. Would the Deputy please resume her seat?

I am sorry, a Cheann Comhairle-----

I will not be sorry. The Deputy is not entitled to use this Chamber for political reasons like that.

It is the only place we cannot do that.

Asking people who they are going to vote for is not acceptable. The Deputy should resume her seat. She is over time. Would the Tánaiste please reply?

The Ceann Comhairle is deliberately preventing me from asking the questions I wish to put and I would like an answer to them.

I am applying the rules of the House in case the Deputy does not understand them.

Does An Tánaiste support the Taoiseach in this and will the Labour Party again fall in behind Fine Gael to back the candidate?

We do not ask those questions in this Chamber.

I think those questions are clear and I look forward to the Tánaiste's response.

The Deputy should resume her seat. This is not what Leaders’ Questions is about.

The Deputy is not addressing the Ard Comhairle of Sinn Féin now-----

I can see that.

-----where she may choose to tell people how to vote, or else. She is speaking in the Dáil. She has no right to direct people of any party or none as to how they are to cast their secret ballot. It is quite impertinent of her to suggest how Members of the Dáil or the Seanad should vote. It is fine if she does that to her own members, via her own processes. They are voluntary members, as I understand it, of her political party.

Volunteers.

She can offer them her guidance and direction if that is the way her party works. This is a secret ballot. The nomination falls to the party which has the vacancy. That is the practice within government. I accept that practice because that is how it is and has been done.

Thank you.

What about appointments to State boards?

The Deputy also raised questions about the appointment to the board of the Irish Museum of Modern Art, IMMA.

Thank you. We are over time, Tánaiste.

That is a farce.

The Tánaiste can dream on.

Is there no instruction to the Labour Party members on how to vote? Is it a free vote?

Deputy Mac Lochlainn is outside the Chamber. He should please stay quiet.

He has joined the Reform Alliance.

Deputy McDonald------

I ask the Tánaiste to respect the Chair. Is she listening to me?

I am listening to the Ceann Comhairle.

I ask her to respect the Chair and please resume her seat because she is over time. The matter raised has been dealt with.

That is fine. Thank you.