Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I can read out the rules of what a non-executive director is. I will read them to you, if you give me one moment. "A non-executive director is a director who does not have a contract of service with the company and normally serves the company on a part-time basis." Your role is that you were not actually elected to the board; you were appointed by the Minister of the day and have been there for the last four years. As a non-executive director, you will have a management function in the running of the business other than assisting in the deliberations of the board. You have a running function as a non-executive director. You direct how the bank operates. None the less, your legal powers and duties are identical to those of executive directors and for this reason you should ensure you have the same ability to obtain information from within the company as other directors, even though in practice you may use mainly summarised information submitted in the reports of the board. How you gather the information on which you make your decisions can be in detail or in summary.

More specifically, you have a duty of care which is required both by executive and non-executive directors. In your situation, your duty of care is in reference to being a public interest director. Your duties as a non-executive director will be intermittent and, as a result, you are not expected to give the same continuous attention to the company's affairs as that given by other executive directors. We accept that. However, Mr. Considine and Mr. Walsh are both there, having been well remunerated for four years to the tune of €500,000 each. On behalf of this committee, I am asking you what are you doing in the public interest. You are servants of the State, operating on this board. I can put out all the information here. It says quite specifically that your duty under the legislation is owed to the Minister on behalf of the State. That is why you are in there. Your duty takes priority over any other duty you have as a director, even if it becomes inconsistent with the duty of the bank. That is what it is.

Legislation has been passed and people are hanging on by their fingernails, hoping for hope. I am not interested in what Bank of Ireland is doing. I am interested in what the public interest directors are doing with respect to the legislation. That is what the committee wants to know. I apologise for interjecting but we have arrived at the kernel of the roles and responsibilities of public interest directors. Tell us what you are doing.