Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It should be at the discretion of the board whether the harbour master attends a board meeting. The harbour master is not necessary for the vast majority of meetings that take place in a port company. The harbour master is there for the navigational duties laid down under his or her contract and it is not necessary on many occasions for the harbour master to be present at such meetings. It would be a very poor and ill-advised board that, if it were dealing with matters that would require the attendance of the harbour master, would not invite the harbour master to such a meeting. There is no necessity to change the wording in this section to "shall". The current wording of "may" should suffice. As I said, it would be a very poor board that, if it were dealing with navigational matters and matters over which the harbour master would have jurisdiction, would not have the harbour master attend such a board meeting. It is a waste of time if a harbour master had to sit at meetings at which there was no reference to his duties. The wording of "may" covers the point within the legislation.