Paul Bradford (Renua Ireland) | Oireachtas source

The section provides that a quorum shall be five, of whom not fewer than two shall be lay members and not fewer than two shall be members other than lay members. If one looks at the breakdown of the membership, the lay members will be in the ascendant from a numerical perspective. I hope I do not come across as entirely conspiratorial, but a situation might arise some day where there could be a clash at such an inquiry between lay and non-lay members where an item of particular contention was up for debate. It would be possible for one side of the equation to ensure that a meeting would not go ahead simply by using the provisions we are putting in place for a quorum. The quorum should be five, but its make-up should not be prescribed. Perhaps I am being too conspiratorial, but if a non-lay member was very unhappy with the holding of a certain meeting, he or she could simply not turn up thereby preventing the meeting from going ahead. It should be possible for the authority to meet with a quorum of five but there should be no prescription as to the five being made up of lay and non-lay members. Hopefully, the situation would not occur, but it will be possible for one side to veto the holding of a meeting by not sending its representatives.