Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I would not envisage that such a serious move would be undertaken by any Minister on a whim, and this is a standard provision in the establishment of State agencies or authorities where the Minister has the power to remove a member. I do not expect the current or any future Minister to be overly draconian in the operation of that authority. The three reasons for removing a person are pretty reasonable, as they refer to a person becoming incapable through ill health, having committed a stated misbehaviour or where the removal would appear to the Minister to be necessary for the effective performance by the authority of its functions. It would only be after considerable consultation and engagement with such a member that the Minister would arrive at the conclusion that he has no other option but to forcibly remove him or her from the board. That is a pretty rare occurrence and it will remain as much in future.