Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 13 July 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine

General Scheme of the Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Bill 2022: Discussion (Resumed)

Mr. Pat McCormack:

It is extremely small. The various boards that are in place servicing the industry reasonably well are large boards that have subcommittees. It is hard for a board that size to have a subcommittee unless it brings different people in. How efficient and transparent is it then and how does the message get back to the main board? It would be more realistic to have a double-digit board where there is opportunity for subcommittees to do specific research and work on the various issues that may come up from time to time. Three is a dangerous number for a quorum. There could be three people from one specific side of the sector or involved in the trading practice. A much larger board with a much larger quorum is needed.