Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The new section will be very careful to state that a manager or an owner of an institution cannot be a co-decision-maker. Where a person has been in an institution for a long period of time, he or she may have formed relationships with people. We believe that undue influence could arise if those persons were the owner or manager of the institution and this is a concern of ours. Therefore, such persons have been deliberately excluded. The director's office will operate independently and will provide a protection by means of its analysis of any co-decision-maker and the registration of the agreement will also provide a protection.