Mr. Hank Fogarty:

I will deal with the issue of conflict of interest. A comment was made about a set of prejudicial relationships. One has to understand the difference. The situation with the voluntary admissions board, that is, the CIRI board, which is in place at the moment, is that I am proposed by the CIF and my nomination is accepted by the Minister. I am not the Minister's nominee. There are five people nominated by the CIF, three members and two independent construction professionals. On the other side, there are five Government-appointed members of the board. That is the system. That seems to infer there is an "us" and a "them" but there never has been. In the three years we have been in existence, we have never once split along party lines. We have been unanimous in everything we have done. The important thing is when the scheme becomes a statutory scheme, the Minister will have control of it. I will not be reappointed. I suspect he will appoint his own person as the chairman and his five members and will have control of the board. If there is ever a conflict of interest, he will be able to deal with it very effectively. It is not true to say the CIF is policing itself. What possible interest would I have at this stage of my career in having a registered entity that is not the full shilling? Why would the CIF want that? It is damaging to the reputation of the industry and good contractors. More than 90% are good contractors. There is no interest in having that arrangement. I cannot see the conflict of interest or the prejudicial relationships. We do not police ourselves. We are a fully independent board. We have always acted like that.