Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 12, line 5, after “accordingly.” to insert the following: “This report shall also be furnished to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Local Government and Heritage.”.

This is quite a straightforward amendment. It seeks that where inspections, reviews or audits and reports are furnished to the Minister by a person who is appointed by the Minister to carry out the reviews of the registration body, that report be furnished to this committee, as well as the Minister. If it is furnished directly to this committee, that will ensure an extra level of accountability. If there are issues in that report that need to be discussed by this committee, we are given a greater opportunity to do so, in terms of transparency and accountability. Given a new statutory body is being set up and its importance, that extra layer of accountability makes sense.