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

I will comment on section 39 to put on the record what we discussed a moment ago. Given the discussion we have just had, I have a duty to explain to the committee how the investigative procedure moves forward.

Section 39 sets out the requirements of the deputy commissioner in preparing a report of the investigation and furnishing that to the commissioner. Subsection (1) provides that after the completion of an investigation, the deputy commissioner will consider the evidence for the purposes of making a recommendation and prepare a report on the investigation and furnish it to the commissioner. Subsection (2) provides that, within the report, the deputy commissioner shall provide a recommendation to the commissioner as to whether or not a contravention has occurred. Subsection (3) lays out how the commissioner will respond to that.

Deputy Sherlock asked earlier about the modality and how it will work. The way it will work is that after the investigation is complete, a report is furnished. The report includes a recommendation and it is then up to the commissioner to decide whether that recommendation requires further action. What I am open to considering is whether the preliminary section of all of this could be changed a little to deal with the concerns that have been raised.