James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 8, to delete lines 1 to 3.

Section 16(b) sets out in detail the term of office of an appointed director. The term of office of a member appointed to the directorate is three years and he or she may be reappointed by the Minister for a second or subsequent term.

In the select sub-committee Deputy Kelleher drew attention to the provisions of the Bill that disqualify a person from being an appointed director or director general where he or she has made a composition or arrangement with creditors. Deputy Kelleher queried what this meant and whether it was in keeping with the stated position of the Government in regard to how arrangements under the Personal Insolvency Act should not impinge unnecessarily on a person's life or activities. I undertook to revert to the select sub-committee on what a composition or arrangement with creditors meant before Report Stage and I have recently written to its Chairman. The legal advice is that a composition or arrangement with creditors, as used in the Bill, means something done under legislation. This has traditionally been the bankruptcy Acts and will now encompass the Personal Insolvency Act.

Having consulted with the Minister for Justice and Equality, who has responsibility for the legislation, and having considered the matter in the context of Government policy on personal insolvency and the Committee Stage debates, I am now moving the necessary Report Stage amendments to delete the references in the Bill to disqualification from being an appointed director in the HSE or being director general of the HSE where the person involved has been adjudicated bankrupt or has made a composition or arrangement with his or her creditors. These are amendments Nos. 6 to 11, inclusive, and 13 to 18, inclusive.

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