Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Under the Bill, provision is made for the appointments being made to the new Competition and Consumer Protection Commission following an open recruitment competition to be run by the PAS. This replicates the system that currently exists for the Competition Authority.

The mechanics of advertising, interviewing and then taking into account the need for successful applicants to give some months' notice to their current employers, possibly up to three months, means that the entire recruitment and selection process could take a number of months to conclude during which period the commission would not be allowed to function without the requisite membership if a number of vacancies had arisen. Thus the Bill repeats, at section 10(5) the provisions of the Competition (Amendment) Act 2010 which allows the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation to appoint whole-time members for a short period to provide cover up to the point when whole-time members are appointed following the holding of a PAS competition. In that context, as laid out in sections 10(10) and 10(11) of this Bill, such members may only be appointed for an initial maximum period of six months, with a further period or periods allowed provided the total period for that temporary member does not exceed 12 months. This provision was utilised in 2010 and appointments made for less than the 12 month period.

Finally, at section 10(3)(b), the Bill also repeats the provisions of the Competition Act 2002 in regard to the appointment of temporary whole-time members to address a situation where a member is temporarily unable to discharge his or her duties. Such provisions are intended to cover illness of a member or unavailability to attend a meeting of the commission if that member is out of the country and cannot take his or her part in that meeting with a knock-on impact on the statutory quorum for that meeting. Thus, they are of short duration and specific to a given unforeseen situation. They have, in the case of the Competition Authority's experience to date, consisted of members of staff being appointed for limited periods to ensure authority meetings could take place with the required quorum, often at short notice. In summary, if a longer-term vacancy arises, the provisions under sections 10(5), 10(10) and 10(11) will operate. If there is a shorter-term vacancy, then section 10(3)(b) will operate.

In light of the above, I do not believe that the proposed amendment from Deputy Calleary is necessary and I am not in a position to accept it.