Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I thought we had dealt with this before during Private Members' time. I remind the House that professional directors seem to go from boardroom to boardroom and from one insolvency to the next but never resign or apologise to the public. They merely collect their fees. Some of these directors appear to have no shame. The AIB was ripped off to the extent of approximately $670 million in the United States and not one director resigned. I have no sympathy with such directors.

I urge the Minister of State to stick with this. These directors may not be as available as they have been heretofore. Many have been anxious to serve in as many as ten companies. If one goes through the list of directors of companies which went bankrupt, became insolvent or left debts all over the place, one sees the names of people who never apologised or resigned. Directors must take their responsibilities seriously or not take the jobs. There are plenty of good people prepared to take responsibility.