Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

This is an unelected body. We are going to have a single person within the standards in public office body, who will be a standards commissioner. That office is unelected for good reason, which the Deputy is accepting. I accept that. We will ask that person to put together a code of practice. It is required in a different section of the Bill that he or she consult with stakeholders on what that code of practice is going to be. In many cases, we are not changing any particular definition. We are looking to have a single framework within which all of this can be dealt with. That is the purpose of the Bill.

There is a section of the Bill that requires the standards commissioner to go through a period of consultation with relevant stakeholders. Maybe that is a way in which this matter could be dealt with. If the Deputy can identify a way in which we can improve the Bill in this area, I am very open to considering it. In light of what the Deputy has said, I am willing to consider this on Report Stage if I can. There is a specific section in the Bill that requires the standards commissioner to consult with stakeholders. Those stakeholders could of course include local authority bodies.