Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I understand it from colleagues, the arrangement proposed is standard. The chairperson is the chairperson of an organisation in the same way as the CEO is the CEO of an organisation, and that individual is invited before a committee. However, nothing precludes other members of the council from being there. Demanding that they all attend could present difficulties because some of them work in Washington or Paris and might not be able to attend at short notice. Perhaps they should come at short notice. The first point is that there is nothing to stop them from coming. I agree with the Senator that having a broad range of views from the council adds to the debate in the committee, but there is nothing to prevent all members from attending if they are requested to do so. If the view of the committee is that the chairperson and others should be available to come before the committee, I cannot foresee a circumstance in which the fiscal council would not accept that.