Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The amendment seeks to delete the prohibition or gagging order which this Government is putting on the chief executive officer of the agency preventing him or her from expressing an opinion on any order or direction given by Government. In removing that gagging order the accountability of Government would not be prohibited. The Government will of course be held accountable for any order or direction its gives to the agency.

However, it allows for an uncensored position, whereby somebody who has the expertise to head the agency is allowed to express their opinion. It is removing the gag and allowing them to express their opinion. It is not saying the person is now accountable for it, simply that the Government is not allowed to gag the person when he or she appears before the Committee of Public Accounts and is asked for their view about the Government's decision, given their experience and the fact that he or she managed all of these assets and money on behalf of the State heretofore. They might be asked: "What was your view of the order that was issued by the Government to invest all of that money in a bank that is now broken and bust and from which we will never get our money?" That individual will be able to say that under section 12(6A)(2) the Government has a gagging order which prohibits them from expressing an opinion on any policy of the Government or Minister or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy.