Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 3, to delete lines 10 to 34, and in page 4 to delete lines 1 to 5 and insert the following:“Amendment of the Staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Act 1959 and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003

1. (1) In this section—

“Act of 1959” means the Staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Act 1959;

“Act of 2003” means the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003;

“Act of 2009” means the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Act 2009.

(2) The Act of 1959 is hereby amended by the deletion of sections 5 and 6.

(3) The Act of 2003 is hereby amended by the deletion of section 15 (as amended by section 11 of the Act of 2009) and the substitution therefor of the following sections:

“Appointment of the Secretary General

15. (1) The Secretary General of the Service (in this Act referred to as the ‘Secretary General’) is the chief executive of the Commission.

(2) The Secretary General shall be the principal officer of the Service and the officer accountable for the accounts of the Commission for the purposes of the Comptroller and Auditor General Acts 1866 to 1998.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), the Secretary General shall be appointed by the Commission following consultation by the Chairman of Dáil Éireann with leaders or designated leaders of groups or parties in either House of the Oireachtas who are not represented on the membership of the Commission at that time.

(4) The selection of a candidate for appointment as Secretary General shall be by means of an open competition, by the committee known as the Top Level Appointments Committee, who shall recommend, in order of preference, not more than three persons for appointment to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission provided if the Commission fail to agree to the recommendation of any of the persons for appointment, then a new competition for the vacancy shall be held and the provisions of this section shall apply accordingly.

(5) For the purposes of this section an open competition shall mean a competition whose terms with respect of the eligibility of persons to compete in it shall not be such as to limit such eligibility to persons who are civil servants.

Assignment of Clerk and Clerk-Assistant functions in each House

15A. (1) The functions of the Clerk of Dáil Éireann may be assigned from time to time from among the staff of the Commission by the Chairman of Dáil Éireann in consultation with the leaders or designated leaders of the parties or groups in Dáil Éireann and the Commission.

(2) The functions of Clerk of Seanad Éireann may be assigned from time to time from among the staff of the Commission by the Chairman of Seanad Éireann in consultation with the leaders of the groups in Seanad Éireann and the Commission.

(3) The functions of Clerk-Assistant of Dáil Éireann and the Clerk-Assistant of Seanad Éireann may be assigned from time to time from among the staff of the Commission by the Secretary General following consultation with the relevant Chairman of the House of the Oireachtas.”.”.

Amendment No. 1 is a long amendment but it boils down to one simple issue. The purpose of the Bill is to appoint a Secretary General for the Houses of the Oireachtas but I propose the inclusion of a section stating "the Secretary General shall be appointed by the Commission following consultation by the Chairman of Dáil Éireann with leaders or designated leaders of groups or parties in either House of the Oireachtas who are not represented on the membership of the Commission at that time." Essentially, the process involves the Top Level Appointments Committee and a recommendation being made to the Ceann Comhairle, who brings it to the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. However, I propose to broaden the basis of that, to get a greater level of acceptability among all the political groupings and from people who are not in political groupings and who are not represented on the commission and to get a greater level of consent on the appointment of the Secretary General, rather than limiting it to members of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. That is the only addition I propose. I think the Minister can see the point I make which is to broaden that final step of the process. It should be non-controversial.