Ms Margaret Hayes:

Perhaps I might refer to the Minister's own interpretation of section 48 which I pursued a few months ago. He stated in the House some time ago that, to assist in addressing the scope for action and perceived conflicts between the fiduciary duties of all directors of financial institutions under company law and the wider public interest in circumstances where institutions were in receipt of huge financial support from the State, section 48 of the 2010 Act provided legal clarity not just for the role of the public interest director but for that of the entire board of such institutions. It provides unequivocally that the over-riding duty of all directors of the covered institutions, irrespective of the circumstances of appointment, relates to the public interest as set out in that Act. Therefore, in truth - if the Deputy wishes to use the phrase - all directors are public interest directors.