Brendan Ryan (Labour)

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 11, line 40, to delete "10 ordinary members (including" and substitute the following:

"8 ordinary members (including a worker director and".

This amendment seeks to reduce the size of the board and include one worker director. There is scope to reduce the board further in this case and business can be done more effectively and efficiently with a smaller board. There is also a concern with this aspect of the legislation because of a failure to allocate a place for worker directors. There is a strong case for worker directors. We propose that room be made for one worker director on the newly constituted board. In the past, worker directors have played a significant and positive role on various semi-State bodies and they could do so in the future. In theory, having a worker director on the board should work in favour of a company because the director would be aware of the context and reason for difficult decisions. As a worker elected to the board, the director must justify his position on the board to the workers. This is a positive thing and is a tried and trusted practice. We have worker directors on the boards of RTE, Bord na Móna and other semi-State bodies. I believe there is a good case for continuing that tradition and, therefore, urge the Minister of State to accept our amendment.