John Cummins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will be as brief as possible. I agree with many of the comments of my colleagues. I was a member of a local authority from 2009 and while I never served on a harbour board, my father did. He worked in Bell Lines shipping company and had a very good, in-depth knowledge of the area. Indeed, he had an all-encompassing view and served on the Waterford Harbour board and Waterford Harbour Commissioners.There is a distinction between appointing a person to the board because he or she is a councillor and allowing people independent of their role as a councillor to apply for a position and, all things being equal, if they are qualified and come through the process, that they should not be precluded from that position. That is an important distinction that is being made by Senators. Perhaps that can be reflected on for Report Stage.