Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputies McAuliffe and Flaherty for not pressing this amendment. Section 14 empowers the commission to establish committees to advise and assist it in the performance of its functions. Such committees may include persons who are not members of the commission or its staff. This provides an avenue for bringing in external skills where required. Being mindful of the commission's independence, it is not proposed to legislate for the formation of specific committees but to leave it open to the commission to form committees as it sees fit.

The amendment's intended effect may be achieved through the commission's advisory function, as set out in section 65, where, at the request of the Minister, the commission shall advise him or her on, inter alia, any policy matters concerning electoral policy or procedures. It would be open to the commission to form a committee to assist it in the event of such a request from the Minister in respect of cyber threats.

On the matter of cyber threats, at the time of publication of the Bill, the Minister signalled that legislative proposals were being prepared to provide for the protection of the integrity of our electoral processes from certain types of online interference. These have recently been approved by Government and will be published shortly.