Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)

I do not agree that this is the way we should do it because this is the way we have just done it in the broadcasting legislation and other legislation. It was not raised then but it is being raised now. The way in which we do our work is that, when issues are raised, it is the job of the Minister and his Department to try to answer them satisfactorily or else to try to solve problems, if they are genuine.

I ask the Minister to examine this issue so we can address the likelihood of somebody on a State board facing a potential arrangement with creditors. We should deal with that person in a fair manner and, if necessary, make amendments to legislation or to the conditions around board membership.

A distinction needs to be made between a composition with creditors and an arrangement with creditors. A composition with creditors, from the definition which the Department has provided to me, comes after somebody has been declared bankrupt. If somebody is bankrupt, the person should not be on a State board, which I accept. However, the arrangement with creditors comes before somebody is bankrupt, when the person is making genuine efforts, consistent with the law and through a court, to put arrangements in place whereby the person can pay their debts. Somebody who is going through that process in an honest and proper way should not be removed from a board for doing it.

It is simply an issue we have not thought of because we have not had to deal with a country which had the sheer numbers of people who are now facing decisions around issues such as arrangements with creditors. It is an issue we need to consider now.

See this speech in context