Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On that, our committee made a recommendation regarding representation from local authorities. This was a key recommendation of the committee, which was a cross-party committee. I am aware that as Chair, I cannot be partisan, but it was a recommendation of our report. The thinking behind local authority representation previously was the need for democratic accountability. This is part of our second level system where State schools such as ETB schools have such representation. Local authorities represent the community, which provides democratic accountability of the institution for the community. What is the Minister's thinking behind not including such a provision in the legislation?