Paschal Mooney (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am only making the point that inferences could be drawn because of the manner in which the process would be set up under this legislation. That is all I am suggesting. I am not saying it would in any way reflect on the individual concerned. There is an old cliché, as Senator Sheahan well knows, that perception is all, particularly in politics. It is not my main concern. My main concern echoes that of other Senators who have contributed, namely, the specifics relating to the appointment in terms of the duration and the terms and conditions.

The thought was also framing in my mind as to what happens at the end of the contract. Am I right in suggesting that under local government reform, which introduced the seven year contract for then county managers, now chief executive officers, it does not prevent them from transferring to other local authorities? Has it happened in some cases that when their contract ended in one county they ended up in another? I do not know whether that is a seamless or a random process but it raises the question that if I were the person outside, once this legislation is passed, and saw an opportunity to serve for a particular period as a senior officer in the Houses of the Oireachtas, I would want to first compare it with my current position in the private sector, and I assume it would be somebody from the private sector, and then compare it with what I am being offered. I wonder whether the calibre of person who will apply for the job, unless the terms and conditions and duration is specific, that maybe the Minister might not attract the caliber of person he wants. These are hypothetical issues. I am not trying to be clever. It is just that in the context of what is before us it leaves wide gaps that need to be addressed.