Noel Ahern (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail)

They can put forward proposals but the ordinary members must accept them. If they do not like them they can say "No" and the right to say "No" is a powerful right in any walk of life. Some ordinary members might like to get their windfall but if they do not feel that what is on offer is fair and reasonable they can also say "No". They can also vote to get rid of particular directors, though I know that is difficult and there has to be a majority. The directors can put forward proposals but individual members must agree to them before they are referred to the Central Bank.

There are extensive and rigorous requirements for any such process. These involve consultation with the Central Bank, approval by the members, public notice, the right to make objections and representations and, ultimately, the right to petition the High Court. It is a long procedure and I do not deny that.

Senator Bannon said we had been talking about this Bill for a couple of years. It has been slow coming, even though not many building societies are involved. It has been tortuous and if there were more building societies it might have been easier to make decisions, for good or bad. There have been many discussions with individual Departments, with the Financial Regulator, the Office of the Attorney General and the building societies themselves. It has been quite difficult to arrive at a formula acceptable to the two sides.

One speaker said there was nothing in the Bill for the EBS, as though we were forcing it to demutualise. We are doing nothing of the sort. We are not forcing anybody and provisions have been included which will help building societies that want to stay mutual. They have expressed satisfaction with those provisions, seeing them as reducing the pressure that can be exerted by predators who might agree with Senator Brady that this is the end of an era. It is not the end of an era because, although there are three building societies at the moment and there might be two very shortly, the EBS is a large building society.