David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I strongly support the amendment because anybody can claim to have a special interest in higher education, for example, if he or she reads about it in the education supplement of the newspapers in the back of a car on a Sunday afternoon. This is tacitly acknowledged in the drafting of the legislation where it says the chairperson and ordinary members of an appeals board shall be appointed by the Minister from among persons who have "a special interest or expertise". They are given as alternatives. Phrasing it as "a special interest and expertise" might be another way of addressing it. It is very flabby to specify just a "special interest".