Terry Leyden (Fianna Fail)

Why exclude them? I am not saying they should be appointed, but they should not be subjected to an exclusionary article. I am referring to section 19 which states that NAMA's members cannot be Members of the Houses or the European Parliament. If they have the good fortune to be nominated to local councils, they must leave NAMA. A qualified person who might be the best candidate to work with NAMA would be excluded owing to his or her membership of a local authority. I cannot understand it. I am not saying these people should be appointed but neither should they be excluded. The only other people who are excluded are bankrupts. Let us be fair to our own people, including Senators. Members of this House would play an important role if given an opportunity. How better could the House be involved? There is time to change this section.

The House is being used in a constructive manner. In my time, I have tabled Bills and amendments. This time, the Seanad is not being excluded, as the Bill is returning to the Lower House. Anything the Minister takes from us will be included in the Bill, as it has been agreed that the Bill will be amended in this House. Recently, we were landed with Bills and were unable to change them because the Dáil had already gone into recess. This time, we can change the Bill.

There is an intriguing section on page 130 that I have never encountered previously.