Mary O'Rourke (Fianna Fail)

Mine is at one remove but at the same time relevant. However, I will speak for myself on this Bill. I did not hear Senator O'Toole's contribution. However, I recall that, at the time he was chairing the group that dealt with this issue, I had taken it upon myself to walk to work every morning. I used to meet him outside the Shelbourne Hotel because as I walked down Kildare Street, he would usually be walking towards me. His meetings took place at 7.30 a.m. which showed a great zeal in tackling the issue. I have no doubt that his commitment to the partnership process over many years has borne fruit in the report the group issued and in the Bill before us. It is right that it took time for the legislation to emerge because the proposal and the various recommendations required careful deliberation. Some might say that the Bill was slow in coming forward but, given the importance of the topics it covers, I do not believe that to be the case.

There are a number of points I wish to make. I hope we will get another opportunity to speak on the Bill again when the Minister of State returns for the Committee Stage debate. I am particularly interested in two matters, the first of which is the membership of the board. On "Morning Ireland" this morning, the chief executive of the Institute of Chartered Accountants referred to the membership of the board and, in particular, the number of places assigned to accountants in its membership. I understand that provision is made for two accountants to serve on the board and that the executive director may or may not be an accountant. If he or she is an accountant, that number will be increased to three. In my opinion, the chief executive had a point.