Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The difficulty is that when something has the approval of the Government, there is a formal process. There are memorandums to the Cabinet and formal decisions, and these are recorded and available for posterity to assess. Where it is just a matter of a Minister discussing a decision with another Minister, it could happen over the telephone or in an email. It is not the same process. We are not talking about minor issues here. We are talking about potentially significant matters, such as the sale or transfer of shares and changes to the memorandum of understanding or articles of association. As a result, I am not satisfied that a telephone call between two Ministers is a sufficient protection. I am pressing both amendments because I believe such matters should be dealt with through a formal decision of the Cabinet.