Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the panel's composition, it is probably true to say that the composition of most boards and committees leaves much to be desired. Take football, for example. People who play football are generally involved in running teams and are greater lovers of football than those who organise the sport. That is true of most sports. How to prevent people from joining the board who are not the type of people we want is a challenge that we should discuss and examine. I do not have the answers, but we should consider the matter.

I did not actually know that the bankruptcy provision was included. I have the proud record of being the first serving Member of Parliament in Ireland who is bankrupt. It is a wonderful achievement. The story has not been accurately told by the mainstream media, but I will not bore members with it either. There is an interesting statistic. In America, the average millionaire goes broke more than three times. That is how the capitalist system works. Someone is rehabilitated more quickly over there. There is a different approach to it, a different philosophy behind people. More often than not, people who become bankrupt are risk takers. I am still a risk taker, but the notion that being bankrupt would in any sense make one close to being a criminal or a less satisfactory person to deal with this issue is a strange one.

I do not want to get into defending myself and being where I am because my business collapsed over a banking crisis, but I agree with the Chairman, in that this provision is harsh on bankrupts.