Joe Costello (Dublin Central, Labour)

We were discussing whether one should have a Garda ombudsman or an ombudsman commission and whether the Minister's current interpretation that "Ombudsman Commission" means the Garda Síochána ombudsman commission established under section 57 was adequate for the present dispensation, considering that he had moved a step further towards redefining the role of the ombudsman commission. It might be desirable to refer to an ombudsman chairperson; the chairperson of the ombudsman commission did not exist when this legislation was first drafted. There was no such individual at that stage, and the Minister had not even envisaged one. He is only now introducing an amendment regarding the establishment of a chairperson, on whom he confers considerable powers. That chairperson will effectively be the ombudsman commission.

The Minister can no longer say it is a commission of three equal persons as set out in the legislation as it stands. His amendments mean that those three persons become one dominant person and two assistants.

This is a new status which requires a new definition. The interpretation as currently laid out is inadequate to cater to the new dispensation that will obtain if the Minister's new amendments are accepted. As we are unlikely to get an opportunity to discuss the amendment in question, through pressures of time and because it is proposed that a guillotine will come into effect tomorrow, I would appreciate if the Minister would indicate where he stands on this issue and give us some idea of the extent of the powers being conferred on the chairman of the ombudsman commission. I also ask him to clarify the adequacy of the current definition.

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