Mary Harney (Dublin Mid West, Progressive Democrats)

The burden on members of a council such as this and the Medical Council, of which Senator Feeney has experience, is such that it is almost impossible to find either professional or lay people to participate. It was stated to me recently that no private sector employer would grant an employee time off to participate in some of these regulatory bodies because a fitness to practise hearing can run for quite a length of time. The power is being given to the society to recruit to committees people who are not on the council and this affords the kind of flexibility to fulfil their functions.