Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation

Records created between 1 March 2019 and 4 August 2020 relating to the consideration of Mr Robert Watt as a candidate for nomination as a member of the board of the Football Association of Ireland. Mr Robert Watt, the secretary general at the Department of Public Expenditure was recently appointed to the board of the FAI. The Sunday Times has reported that former sports minister Shane Ross blocked the appointment during the Minister’s tenure because of perceived or other conflicts of interest. Following the general election in 2020 and subsequent government formation, a decision was made to progress with the appointment and apparently, the FAI had kept the board vacancy open for several months to facilitate the appointment. I would like to see copies of correspondence within the Department and between the Department and officials from other Departments, including the Department of the Taoiseach, between the Department and external bodies