Brendan Ryan (Labour)

If the Minister wishes to take me on, I will not lack enjoyment in that exercise. However, let us not go down that route. For the sake of illustrating the point, let us suppose the Government made such a decision and the chief executive of the national digital hub agency appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts. He would not be allowed to tell the committee that the decision was a bad one. I presume he would be free to express that view in any other forum outside the Committee of Public Accounts, including, incongruously, any other Oireachtas committee. Due to the fact that there was a provision in relation to the Committee of Public Accounts at a time when it had a narrowly limited function concerning Government Departments, it has now been inappropriately inserted into the Bill quite and, for some unknown reason, an otherwise reasonable Minister has decided to retain it. I support the amendment.