Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am afraid I have some problems with a number of these amendments. The Senator touched on some of these herself. I have no problem with the oversight aspect but I believe the Senator is being overly prescriptive. I can foresee circumstances in which it would be required to borrow in dollars or another currency, particularly given the nature of the business the media commission is to be in. I do not want to get into a debate on the Central Bank and its granting of licences and so on because that is entirely different debate. I have spoken here before about it being overly prescriptive. However, there may be circumstances in which it makes more sense to borrow from a financial institution regulated elsewhere within the European Union. I will not get into a debate on cryptocurrency, although we can have that discussion when we move into an era of digital currency.The Senators are being overly prescriptive in terms of some of the requirements here. I would certainly expect an agency of State to follow best practice in the context of its borrowing practices. I do not have a problem with oversight provisions being written into the Bill but these amendments are overly prescriptive, as the Senators have acknowledged.