Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I think I have said all I want to say on this issue. I am striving here for genuinely broad representation, which was not the case with the VECs in the past, when often people were given slots because they were former councillors, they knew somebody, or were closely politically aligned with the dominant faction at the time.

This is a structured advance beyond that point. As Senator Bacik has already said, we are trying to limit numbers to a certain extent and maximise representation in an effective and efficient way. The current system of selecting parents' representatives to go back is unsatisfactory. As I have indicated already I am open to suggestions. We can have informal discussions and see how far we can get on that and then bring it to Report Stage and sign off on it.