Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendments Nos. 129 and 130. It is welcome that a representative of the CCMA will be on the board. That is a good idea.

Amendment No. 130 is very good. We probably all have, at various stages, experiences with boards that sometimes do not have the required expertise. I understand the Minister not wanting to be overly prescriptive but some formula of words should be put into this legislation - it would not have to be the exact wording in this amendment - to ensure we have expertise on the board in marine biodiversity, environmental protection and European environmental law. We can get that expertise on the board without it being set out as per the wording in this amendment, but it gives a certain level of strength to what we are looking for in the people who are appointed to the board. We are making sure that some of those appointments, specifically, cover that. It will only strengthen the board by having that provision. It also means people on the board are not entirely reliant on the briefings and information they are getting. There will be people with sufficient skills and knowledge to be able to interrogate strongly that information. I welcome what the Minister has to say on that point.