Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I can appreciate that. To be fair though, it is slightly irrelevant. I accept that Ms McMahon had no material interest in the company but there are lots of people who are directors of companies who have no material interest in them but they still have to abide by what is legal. Obviously, in Ms McMahon's situation, she does not have a material interest but she did not adhere to the requirements of the law because she got informal legal advice. I am not legally qualified but I do know about the standards in public office legislation. For me, it does not stand up that a director of a company at the level of Ms McMahon would not meet those legal requirements. I know that Ms McMahon is in a bind and I appreciate the situation in which she finds herself. I appreciate that there must be a director and I understand Mr. Nugent wrote to her in that capacity because somebody has to be a director, or at least the organisation believes that somebody has to be a director. However, there are requirements that must be met under law and they have not been met.