Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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That is three separate groups that do not have any common membership. If that is the position, I would like it clarified because it seems as if somebody is saying "the board had to have 12 members and we have run out of places". If the representatives of the owners association are saying there are not enough places, rather than robbing Peter to pay Paul, are they saying that the board should be bigger? I am open to the idea that we would examine it and I am not wedded to a particular single number. If it is, say, a board of 12 members, my experience is that on any day a board meets, up to a third of the members could be missing for one reason or another, and it could be down to nine members attending the meeting which is a small number to be making the decisions.

The owners' representatives are saying that the CEO of the HRI should be restricted to two consecutive terms as this is also proposed for board members. I am always conflicted on this issue and I have been involved in drafting Bills. If such a restriction applies to a chief executive or board members, one finds that sometimes one is forced to get rid of good people. The other side of the story is that if the people in place are bad, as it were, one has a way to get rid of them without having to pay huge compensation. I am conflicted as to which approach is the right one.