John Paul Phelan (Fine Gael)

I support Senator Ryan's amendment which is similar to my amendment No. 8. There is a small difference in that the Labour Party amendment seeks to reduce the size of the board further than is proposed in the Bill. Both amendments seek to include a worker director. I do not understand the logic behind removing the worker director from the board. I understand that legislation enacted in 1977 laid the foundation stone for worker directors to be placed on the boards of semi-State authorities. It seems a step backward to remove this provision.

To cut to the chase, this Bill would never have been introduced were it not for the sterling work of a number of Members of this House and the Dáil in unveiling difficulties that emerged within FÁS. However, despite the profligacy of certain senior managers and the lack of oversight by the board as evidenced in the coverage those issues have received, everybody has pointed out that the ordinary staff of FÁS provide a vital service the length and breadth of the country. Both the community employment schemes and the apprenticeship schemes FÁS operates have been acknowledged around the world. These have been very successful. Everybody acknowledges that the role of the ordinary worker in the organisation has been undermined to an extent by the activities of senior management and, perhaps, a lack of oversight by board members. However, I believe those ordinary workers should continue to have a representative voice at board level within the FÁS structure. It is for that reason I have tabled amendment No. 8 and support amendment No. 7.