Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On amendment No. 16, I note that the Minister in his correspondence to me specifically references the need to ensure that individuals who are on the board will have governance experience. The current travails of RTÉ makes that all the more important. I welcome that.

The amendment is similar to Deputy Farrell's amendment in that we merely want to ensure that there are people who are experienced in the area of research and innovation and who have been at the coalface of that because they can bring that perspective to any funding decisions that might be made or any proposals that might be considered. That is the first point.

The second point in which I may be pushing out the envelop in respect of my party's amendment is that there is an obligation on Ireland to transpose into law the directive on adequate minimum wages, which relates to specific targets in respect of collective bargaining. I am striking a blow here for trade union rights and ensuring that there is at least on the board members who are cognisant of workers' rights and that we do not exploit in any way researchers or those who are funded, and that they do not find themselves in precarious contracts, that there is some sort of recognition by the board, if it has a mandate to do so, to ensure that nobody is exploited in any way, and that any funding decisions are such that people's rights as workers, given the panoply of law that is there in respect of workers' rights on this island, are respected.