Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Exactly, and I take that on board. It is a fair point. The issue on shares is important, though, especially in some of the more fast-moving providers. How many times have these companies split? How many times have the value of shares changed, with companies splitting four, five or six times? That question of what gets boosted in its potential, or the early actor, is a concern. We should not have a situation where people have shares in the companies that they are regulating but Senator Malcolm Byrne makes a good point on gifts.

I would add a point back for debate in relation to the online accounts. It is a good point but it should be more specifically directed at those who have a monetised or commercial personal account. It is different when one has an account for which one is getting sponsorship, product placement, advertising and so on. While the provider may not be paying one, it is facilitating one's economic activity indirectly, even though the monetary input comes from others. Given that this is a section on financial interests, it would be better to identify that as a relevant issue but to make sure it is limited to the aforementioned individuals and not to someone who has, for example, put up lots of pictures of their adorable dog for no money at all, which lots of people liked. I am actually thinking of my friend, Claire Power, who has a very beautiful dog.