Andrew Doyle (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to the two amendments separately. I will deal first with amendment No. 16bwhich concerns the maximum number of terms a member of the control committee can serve. It is standard practice and in compliance with the code of governance for control committee members to serve two terms. In the pre-legislative scrutiny process the joint committee recognised that it might be difficult to find sufficient people with the right skill set willing to participate in the control committee. For that reason, it did not question the fact that they would serve two terms. In fact, it suggested going further. It advised that the three-year term, as proposed at the time the general scheme was being discussed, should be revised upwards to four years. The legislation reflects that suggestion. In the circumstances it is not intended to accept the amendment.

In relation to amendment No. 16cand the issue of a conflict of interest, section 12 deals comprehensively with the disclosure of interests, including family ties, as referred to by the Senator. The principles behind the section are standard across similar legislation. Limiting the issue of conflict of interests to this section, as proposed, would undermine the all-embracing corporate governance procedures outlined in section 12, but we may have a solution to which I mentioned to the Senator.