Caít Keane (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I support the amendment. With regard to the preparatory work that has been done with the companies that will be carrying out the work, is that online at present?

I should have checked before I came down but I did not. Is there detail of the various companies to which tenders have been awarded to do the work? How far on is the work? How far on is the process for the subsidiary companies and are they listed online? What about negotiations with local authorities and the eventual transfer of staff? At what stage is the detail of how the staff will work?

The amendment indicates that the board "shall not perform a function under this section" if the Minister indicates it should not do so. Does the reverse apply? I presume it does, for example, if the Minister indicates an operation has been in train for a year and that a better idea should be applied. The positive "shall" is in the other legislation but this is a negative term, "shall not perform a function", which is good if the board is performing functions that we do not want performed.