Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I fully support the point made by my two colleagues. The commitment of a chief executive officer, as distinct from the knowledge of a consultant, is quite different. A consultant is not single-mindedly committed to the advancement of the agency or organisation but there to give advice. The wonderful thing about being a consultant is that, subject to certain laws about negligence, he or she is not responsible for the consequences of his or her advice because ultimately he or she does not take the decisions. A chief executive, subject to proper agency supervision, takes them. Therefore, to put a consultant in that position is to invite temper-rising and diffusion of responsibility, which is not a good idea. I fully agree with Senator Quinn's amendment which I support enthusiastically. I wish to raise other issues about the section to which I will return in due course.