The former general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has been appointed as chairman of a state board - without going through the new process for state appointments.

David Begg was today named as the new chairman of the Pensions Authority for a five-year term - a post worth over €Â€20,000 a year.

It's been confirmed this evening that he was not appointed through the Public Appointments Service - but instead was chosen by Tánaiste Joan Burton, in her capacity as Minister for Social Protection.

However a spokesman said this was permitted under the new guidelines, as long as the minister was satisfied of the appointee's credentials.

The guidelines, introduced in the wake of the controversy over John McNulty's appointment to the board of IMMA, do allow ministers to bypass the appointments process if they are satisfied of a separate candidate's credentials.

However those guidelines also say ministers making such appointments should publish a biography of their appointee to underline their credentials.

The Department of Social Protection this evening published Mr Begg's biography:

He was previously General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and spent five years as Chief Executive of Concern Worldwide in the late 1990s.  He is currently also Chairman of the Board of Barnardos and his NGO experience includes periods on the Boards of Trócaire and the Disasters Emergency Committee in the UK.   He also served on the Advisory Board of Ireland Aid.   David Begg has held a number of Public and Private Sector Non Executive positions including on the Boards of Aer Lingus, the Central Bank and the National Economic and Social Council (NESC).  He was a Governor of the Irish Times Trust from 2001 to 2011.   He has a Master’s Degree in International Relations from DCU and a PhD in Sociology from NUI Maynooth.