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Special Committee Pigs and Bacon Bill, 1934 debate -
Thursday, 11 Apr 1935

SECTION 128.

Minister for Agriculture

I move amendment No. 126:—

In sub-section (2) to insert at the end of the sub-section the words " and different rates of remuneration may be appointed for ordinary members of the Board who are members of the Board who are members of the Bacon Marketing Board and for other ordinary members of the Board ".

Amendment agreed to.
Question proposed: " That Section 128 stand part of the Bill."

On the section, I think that some restriction should be put on the members of the Board in fixing their own salary. Their salary should bear some relation to the attendance they give at Board meetings. One member, perhaps, might only attend one meeting in three months and possibly draw a salary of £100 or £50 for that one attendance. I think that abuses of that kind should not be allowed to creep in. It would be a simple thing to make provision.

Minister for Agriculture

The Board may do that.

The Board will then be fixing their own salaries.

Will the Minister give this undertaking—that he will require the Board to fix their remuneration on the basis of their attendance—that they will receive a fee in respect of each attendance ?

Minister for Agriculture

All I can do is approve or disapprove of what they put up to me.

The Minister can continue to disapprove until they fix a fee of £2 2s. 0d. per meeting, the aggregate to be not more than 100 guineas in 12 months.

It would be much easier for the Minister to regulate matters if he had a provision in the Bill.

I understand that it is a very common practice in the case of directors of companies to have fixed a fee per meeting, the total for the year not to be in excess of a certain figure. I think that that would be a good proviso.

Could you not provide in the Bill, or by rules, that a member absent from two or three consecutive meetings shall cease to be a member ?

That is already provided.

And that if he had not a certain percentage of attendances within a six months or a twelve months' period he would forfeit his travelling allowance, as in the case of local bodies.

Deputy O'Reilly

Would not that be a matter for regulations ?

Minister for Agriculture

I think it would be better to leave the matter to the Board for the present. It is a thing I have not thought over and I do not think that any member of the Committee has thought over it.

This could apply to both Boards.

The men you will have on these Boards will be men of some standing and you cannot be mean with them when you expect a fair return from them.

Section agreed to.
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