Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael)
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If we change the numbers, the quorum will change. I do not want to go back over the debate on changing the numbers. There was a balance in the original number of 11 between the legal professions and the lay membership. That was also a part of the thinking. Deputy Collins said that there should be an equality of membership. The way we have it, there is one more lay member than there are representatives of the legal professions. When talking about 13, one of the issues is whether putting in an extra two creates an imbalance between the representatives of the legal professions. Quite clearly, in the context of deliberating on whether it should be 11 or 13, that is an issue for consideration, but the issue that the Deputy raised with regard to a quorum would be a relevant matter as well.