Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

When a material interest is disclosed pursuant to section 15, the disclosure shall be recorded in the minutes of the meeting of the agency, the investment committee or the committee concerned and for so long as the matter to which the disclosure relates is being dealt with by the meeting, the member by whom the disclosure is made shall not be counted in the quorum for the meeting.

The amendment proposed by the Deputy would require a register of interests declared by the NTMA staff to be publicly available. We all agree that it is essential to have clear provisions covering conflicts of interest, especially in a market facing agency such as the NTMA with a commercial focus. There are clear and specific disclosures of interest requirements in this legislation and the NTMA is also covered by the ethics in public office Act. However members of staff of the agency are entitled to their privacy. It would be going too far to have their personal affairs on view to the wider public and would be likely to serve as a significant disincentive to recruitment. Therefore, we cannot support this amendment.