Mr. Gavin Lawlor:

The difficulty with the panel is that if people are appointed to it at an appropriate point in their career and if the panel sits for a defined period of three or four years, it may be naturally depleted in any event. As per the earlier discussion, the key word is "balance", and it is missing from the legislation. All the witnesses agree on that. In order to have a balance of expertise on the board, the insertion of the word "balance" would be appropriate. That is what is missing. It is there by convention at the moment. If somebody comes off the board who is an architect, it is generally accepted in the development world that it is a good idea to replace him or her with another architect. Likewise, if an ecologist or somebody from an NGO such as the Irish Environmental Network comes off, it is good to make sure that a balance is restored on the board. That is the key.