Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

In his earlier contribution, Senator Byrne mentioned the former President Mary Robinson and how she used this Chamber to inspire debate and significant policy movements in a number of areas across the body politic. These are the fora where such discussions take place. Once they have taken place and we decide on the direction, it is the CEO's role to implement that direction. Can the CEO form part of those discussions? I would say that he or she most certainly can and should. If they are involved in the day-to-day running of an organisation which is there to ensure the very highest quality in educational provision, they must engage, and I am sure that the existing CEOs of the former quality awarding bodies already are engaging, regularly with the Minister. They must have discussions on the direction in which the organisations should be moving.

I do not think it appropriate, however, that the CEO of such an organisation should comment publicly about his or her support, or lack of support, for a particular policy direction. That would lead to a lot of disorder and dysfunction in administering the quality awarding authority. I do not think it is manageable or acceptable and it would not work on a day-to-day basis. The CEO is there to implement the policy once established, and while that is not to say that the CEO cannot have a role in discussing and formulating that policy, it should not be in the public domain where he or she could appear in the national news media questioning the very raison d'être of such a policy. I do not think that would be acceptable. It would lead to a disorderly functioning of that organisation and any other organisation where such a CEO was in place.