Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail)

I am not sure why that should be the case. There is no reason for it in any Bill. When this issue previously arose eight or nine years ago, I raised it with several Ministers, including the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. We discovered that certain civil servants have a propensity to include this as a blanket exclusion. I do not see similar exclusions in relation to Department officials.

It is absolute nonsense to include the exclusion in this Bill. The Minister has established joint policing committees and, while I am critical of the fact that an unnecessary pilot scheme is in operation at the request of the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the policing committees will make a significant improvement to police effectiveness and act as a conduit for communication between the Garda and the community. People who serve on those committees will develop sufficient expertise to equip them for membership of the management board. While we are not in a position to amend this Bill——