Paul Coghlan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

All right. I wanted to come to the liabilities. That is one of the glaring omissions of the present arrangement. I know a colleague who was pilloried somewhat over things he owned, but what was not known, although I knew it, was that he owed millions to financial institutions. That was not declared at all. Dr. Byrne is quite right: this thing is meaningless. It does not say what anybody owes. Sometimes - and it could happen to Members of the Oireachtas - they might owe a lot more than they own, so that is a matter that should be properly declared in the public interest. That is why I fully agree with Dr. Byrne's comment.

Of course, cognisance of international best practice has to be carefully taken account of, as well as oversight agencies and how we deal with whistleblowers. Everything that was said in regard to those matters is important. The general scheme of a Bill can be suitably built upon. Now that other Members of the Oireachtas are going to be involved, it is important, as has been said, that the widest possible consultation should take place.

The witnesses are all agreed that the Bill is necessary but, as has become obvious from what Mr. Tyndall and Mr. O'Keeffe have said, there are differences within the commission as to whether there will be a single commissioner. I would be pretty open about that. I might be slightly biased, but I would err towards the Member of the Oireachtas who represents us on the commission. I am glad he was not blackballed, as he put it. The debate on that can take place and all the different aspects, including the pros and cons, can be examined.

Given that such a glaring omission has been referred to, it interesting that this at least, as well as some other things, will be taken care of. I look forward to the ongoing debate. I am sure that if some of us are lucky enough to be back in the next Parliament we will be able to take care of it. I look forward to dealing with it.