Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

This amendment seeks to provide that persons appointed to the board of the bank by the Minister for Finance should include persons with experience in the delivery of financial services, in the requirements for adequate consumer protection and the needs of business in a competitive environment. In making appointments, the main aim of the Minister for Finance is to select persons with the necessary qualities and attributes of each office, who are independent of the Government in the exercise of their functions. Needless to say, any such appointments can only be made after the most careful consideration. In this respect it is unnecessary to tie the hands of future Ministers for Finance by setting specific criteria for the appointment of certain directors of the board of the bank.