State Boards
Under the aegis of the Department of the Taoiseach
National Economic and Social Council (NESC)
The functions of the National Economic and Social Council are to analyse and to report to the Taoiseach on strategic issues relating to the efficient development of the economy, the achievement of social justice, the development of a strategic framework for the conduct of relations and the negotiation of agreements between the Government and the social partners.
Members are appointed by the Taoiseach on the basis of nominations received from the trade unions, business and employers organisations, farmers' organisations, the environmental and community and voluntary sectors. A number of public servants and independent experts are also appointed. There are currently 32 members of the Council.
A new Council was appointed for a three year term in January, 2011. The Council’s term of office will expire in January 2014.
The current membership of NESC is as follows:
| National Economic and Social Council |
| Name | Occupation / Organisation |
| Martin Fraser | Secretary General Department of the Taoiseach |
| Trade Union Pillar Nominees |
| David Begg | General Secretary, ICTU |
| Sally Anne Kinahan | ICTU |
| Shay Cody | IMPACT |
| Manus O'Riordan | SIPTU |
| Business and Employer Organisation Pillar Nominees |
| Danny McCoy | IBEC |
| Tony Donohoe | IBEC |
| Tom Parlon | CIF |
| Ian Talbot | Chambers Ireland |
| Agriculture and Farming Organisation Pillar Nominees |
| Seamus O'Donohue | ICOS |
| Pat Smith | IFA |
| Edmond Connolly | Macra na Feirme |
| Frank Allen | ICMSA |
| Community and Voluntary Pillar Nominees |
| Fr. Sean Healy | Social Justice Ireland (formerly CORI) |
| Brid O’Brien | INOU |
| Caroline Fahey | Saint Vincent de Paul |
| Mr. James Dorley | NYCI |
| Environmental Pillar |
| Oisin Coughlan | Friends of the Earth |
| Karin Dubsky | The Environmental Pillar |
| Siobhan Egan | The Environmental Pillar |
| Michael Ewing | The Environmental Pillar |
| Government Department Nominees |
| Kevin Cardiff, Secretary General | Dept. of Finance |
| Geraldine Tallon, Secretary General | Dept of Environment, Community & Local Government |
| Brigid McManus, Secretary General | Department of Education and Skills |
| Independent Nominees |
| Prof Egdar Morgenroth | ESRI |
| Prof John McHale | NUIG |
| Prof Mary Daly | Queen’s University Belfast |
| Prof Anna Davis | Trinity College |
| Prof Seán Ó Riain | NUI Maynooth |
| Dr. Michael O’Sullivan | Credit Suisse - London |
| Ms Mary Walsh | Chartered Accountant |
| Dr. Michelle Morris | UCD |
The National Statistics Board (NSB)
The National Statistics Board has operated since February 1986 and was placed on a statutory basis on 1 November 1994 under the Statistics Act 1993. Its function is to guide the strategic direction of the Central Statistics Office, including establishing priorities for the compilation and development of official statistics.
The current members were appointed in October 2010 for three years.
The current membership of the NSB is as follows:
Dr. Patricia O'Hara
Professor Philip Lane
Mr. Fergal O'Brien
Mr. Paul Sweeney
Mr. Ciaran Dolan
Mr. Michael J. McGrath
Mr. Gerry O’Hanlon
An Assistant Secretary in the Department of the Taoiseach will be appointed shortly to the NSB as provided for in Section 18 (1)(b) of the Statistics Act.