Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I move amendment No. 16:

In page 18, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following:

"(2) The chief executive of the Authority may attend at meetings of the Authority and speak but shall not be a member of the Authority.".

The purpose of the amendment is to ensure appropriate standards of corporate governance are maintained. It would be preferable to have a separation between the governing board and the management in the form of the chief executive to ensure accountability. The Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, on his previous visit to the House indicated that is changing and the trend is in a different direction. The brief surveys I have carried out in the time since Tuesday indicate this is the way to do it. I disagree with the Minister's response. However, I do not intend to press it today.