Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein)
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I accept that the deletion of the section would not be the way to deal with our concerns. Section 29(1) provides that the authority shall prepare and submit to the Minister a report. The way to deal with our concerns would to be to delete the words "to the Minister" and substitute "directly to the Houses of the Oireachtas". There must be no perception that the authority is under the control or within the remit of the Minister. Previous amendments sought to ensure this. Again, it would remove any perception that the authority was not independent.

I accept that the deletion of the section would not be desirable, but a change to include the relevant committee or the Houses of the Oireachtas is the objective.