There are currently just two board members, with seven positions vacant since the end of September 2021, The Times reports. The board is therefore unable to reach the quorum to make decisions.

Opposition politicians have called on Damien English, the minister of state for business, employment and retail, to appoint new board members as quickly as possible.

Senator Marie Sherlock, employment spokesperson for the Labour Party, said: “This isn’t rocket science to appoint people to the board. I’m frustrated and alarmed that this has been left for so long. The question has to be, what is the plan of the department to actually progress this?”

Louise O’Reilly, enterprise spokesperson for Sinn Féin, said: “This is the state’s industrial relation machinery, these are the people who guide the functioning of a really important resource for workers and employers. If the government is demonstrating this level of disinterest, it should be a matter of concern.”