Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

I can see from where Senator Quinn is coming. The audit committee must have credibility and it must be independent. If these lines were deleted, one could, technically, invite a retired employee of a company to sit on such a committee. I do not think it would be an independent group. The audit committee needs to be totally independent of the organisation because that is the only way it will work. I do not agree with the amendment and I ask the Minister of State to oppose it. This is an excellent provision and one which will, as far as possible, not be abused. In addition, five years is a short period within which an individual could join such a committee after leaving employment.