Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

Amendment No. 20 is a response to my concern on Committee Stage at the possibility that board meetings could be held where people telephone to give a decision on a question. It is open to abuse in difficult decisions where the board is split. To be fair the Minister has tried to address this concern. In the unlikely event there is not a full attendance at the board meeting and members must be telephoned for their views on a certain issue, it would not be acceptable for the chairperson to be on the telephone when other members could not hear and a vote may be taken. I have experience of controversial decisions made on the basis of telephone calls from people who were abroad at the time.

I accept the RTE board will have to meet in emergency session when some members could be abroad. I have no problem with telephone or video-conferencing whereby every board member can contribute to a discussion and give their decisions to the meeting. It must happen, however, in a way where all members can hear what is being said and have the opportunity to contribute. The Minister's amendment covers this.

My only concern is the drafting of the amendment. It states, "meetings of the Authority or a statutory committee shall be capable of being held by telephone or other suitable electronic means whereby all the members of the Authority or the relevant statutory committee can hear and be heard." If one member cannot be heard, for example by not having access to a telephone, it would negate those who were contributing through other conferencing means. There could be an awkward scenario of a board member being in hospital. This would negate other members using telephone or video-conferencing facilities. Even if a decision were taken by a large majority of the board, it would not be valid. When entering the telephone or video-conferencing realm, it is either all or nothing. Either every member is there as part of the process or else one goes back to the old-fashioned way of people turning up for a meeting.

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