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

On Committee Stage in the Dáil, the Minister for Finance stated that he would look at a mechanism whereby an exception to term limits could be allowed in exceptional circumstances. I tabled an amendment to that effect on Committee Stage in the Seanad yesterday which amends section 95A of the Bill. The purpose of that amendment is to allow the Central Bank to appoint a director under section 95A even where that person may have exceeded the term limit. The amendment deals with a situation where it is necessary to enhance or improve the expertise of a board, for example, where the term limit meant that it was deficient in this respect.

This section provides that the bank may require the appointment of an additional director in such circumstances. However, it has been amended so that where a credit union is unable to source a director to meet the necessary requirements, it may nominate a director who would otherwise be excluded because of the term limit. I believe this addresses the point raised by the Senator's amendment without fundamentally compromising the core principle that the Minister is seeking to provide for in the Bill. On that basis, I do not propose to accept the amendment.