Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)

Amendment No. 26 proposes that the CEO should not be a member of the board. The text of the Bill as it stands proposes that the NORA board should comprise of six persons, including the chief executive in this instance. Notwithstanding what the Deputy says, there are various practices in various boards. In this case, and for the same reason as we talked about with regard to the 40% ceiling, it is better that we maintain the Bill as it is.

A number of bodies under my aegis have the CEO as a board member, including the ESB, Bord na Móna, Bord Gáis Éireann, Eirgrid, Sustainable Energy Ireland and Digital Hub. With the exception of the chief executive who will be appointed by the director, the Bill provides that all other directors are to be appointed by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, with the consent of the Minister for Finance for a period of five years with the possibility of reappointment.

Amendments Nos. 27 and 38 propose that at least 40% of the NORA board should be women. As I said on Committee Stage, I appreciate the thinking behind this. I try to ensure we meet that 40% in all the appointments over which I have control and have appointed a number of women to the chairs of various bodies under my aegis. I have no problem with the concept and was probably the first Minister to introduce it in legislation. I do not have a principled objection to the provision being part of legislation, but these matters must be judged on a case by case basis. However, this is a specific sector. The Deputy raised this matter on Committee Stage and I checked with experts in the area and am not inclined to enshrine this proposal in this legislation. Under the circumstances, having a legal obligation to ensure 40% women could seriously compromise the NORA board and result in the appointment of individuals, not on the basis of merit but on the basis of whether the board needed a male or female member at a particular point.

The same goes for amendment No. 29, which I cannot accept. The concern in making appointments to State boards is that the board should contain people of the highest calibre who are capable of making a positive contribution to the company. The provisions in regard to disclosure of confidential information by directors are set out in section 24 and provision is made for the code of conduct in section 25. I am satisfied that those provisions are sufficient, as they are with the provisions of the memorandum and articles of association of the company.

With regard to the other amendment, the Bill as drafted provides for appointments to the board of NORA based on experience and competence in one or more of the areas, including finance and economics. Persons from this background may include persons with experience of the stock market and, consequently, they are eligible to be considered for appointment to the NORA board. Therefore it is not necessary to include the proposed amendment.

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