Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to the section, the reference to excluding elected or co-opted members of local authorities from serving on the board of the port company is an anomaly. If the Minister or I served on a local authority and it took over the assets of a port company, we would have a direct say on the port activities through debating in the council chamber. However, if the local authority takes over the shares of the port company and becomes the shareholder, the Minister and I, as local authority members, would be debarred from serving on the board of the company. I do not see the logic in making a distinction between them. Both operations are port operations. In one instance we have a direct say and in the other instance we are not allowed participate on the board. I have always held the view that local authority members should not be barred from any boards if they qualify under other criteria to be board members. That a person is a local authority member should not impinge on his or her qualifications and bar him or her from becoming a board member. If the local authority takes over the assets, councillors would be able to be directly involved, but if it takes shares in the company, the local authority members are excluded from any involvement, which is anomalous. The Minister said he would deal with this. I asked earlier if the concerns could be addressed along with Senator Craughwell's amendments which have been withdrawn. This is why I raise it on the question of the section.