Poorly trained board members in plcs or co-operatives are responsible for ill-conceived acquisitions, poorly researched diversification and unnecessary exposure to risks, according to the former chief executive of the Irish Dairy Board.

Mr Brian Joyce, chairman of the Educational Building Society, told delegates to the annual conference of the Irish Co-operative Organisation Society, that co-operatives in particular would be better served if their boards had a greater cross-section of skills and experience.

"A reasonable number of non-executive board members, drawn from the outside sector, with varied business experience, will enhance decision-making and help maintain focus on core issues," he said.

He said independent board members needed to be independent of management, free of a relationship with the co-operative society, should not be a former employee or executive, should not be related to other board members or executives and should not be a supplier or professional adviser. Good governance also suggested that the board of management should have sub-committees to deal in detail with specific issues and report back to the main board.

Corporate governance sounded like a lofty concept, he added, but board members needed to learn the lines of demarcation between the roles of the chairman and individual members.

Mr Dessie Boylan, chairman of the ICOS, the umbrella group for co-operatives, appealed to the Government to change the provision in the Budget which removed the ceiling on employers' PRSI. The Budget had added further to the costs for employers, while at the same time co-operatives and other businesses were faced with significant additional labour costs, arising from the strength of the economy and high wage expectations. He said correct management structures had to be put in place. "In many instances, the size of our boards is too large."

Mr Harm E. Clevering, chairman of the Dutch National Cooperative Council, said his organisation provided various training programmes for board members, and in addition, directors followed courses on special subjects and travelled abroad to get more experience.