Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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52. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason the period of time non-executive directors may serve on the board of the Central Bank of Ireland's regulated institutions has been extended beyond the previous limit of nine years as set out in the Corporate Governance Code for Credit Institutions and Insurance Undertakings 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10611/15]

Michael Noonan (Limerick City, Fine Gael)
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The Corporate Governance Code for Credit Institutions and Insurance Undertakings, 2010, did not include a limit as to how long either an executive or non-executive director may serve on the board of a credit institution.

Section 7.13 of the 2010 Code required board memberships to be reviewed at least every three years and required a review of the membership of individual directors who were members of the board for nine years or more.

The intention of the nine year review requirement in Section 7.13 of the 2010 Code was to require an assessment of independent non-executive directors to determine if they could still be considered independent after this period of time on the board. It was not to require membership reviews of all directors, which are required on a more frequent three year basis.

The rationale for an independent non-executive director's continuance was required to be assessed against the criteria for independence. This review was to be conducted on an annual basis once the nine year threshold had been reached by an independent non-executive director.

The 2010 Code was reviewed in 2013 and the Corporate Governance Code for Credit Institutions and Insurance Undertakings, 2013, made a number of changes to clarify the requirements.

The 2013 Code, like the 2010 Code, does not include a limit as to how long either an executive or non-executive director may serve on the board of a credit institution.

Section 7.14 requires board memberships to be reviewed at least every three years while Section 7.15 requires a review of the membership of an independent non-executive director who is a member of the board for nine years or more. This review must subsequently be carried out annually.