Tom Parlon (Laois-Offaly, Progressive Democrats)

The rationale for assigning the responsibilities to the Taoiseach comes from the fact that the Taoiseach is also the appointing authority for each of these officers. This approach is consistent with the provision in section 7 where the Government can assign the dismissing authority to the Minister who has the power of appointing a successor to that civil servant. Identifying the appropriate mechanism for dismissal in respect of these officers has been carefully considered.

The approach taken is not exclusive to Ireland. Similar arrangements exist in other states where such appointments are made on the recommendation of a Prime Minister, or equivalent, such as in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The head of the office, as is the case with other parliamentary staff, is designated as a civil servant of the State and is independent of the Taoiseach's or Government's direction. The proposed amendment reflects the current arrangements set out in the 1959 and 2003 Acts relating to the dismissal of certain officers in the Houses of the Oireachtas. If new arrangements are put in place, it would represent a policy change in respect of the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. It would not be appropriate to deal with such a significant change in a piecemeal manner in this Bill. In this context, the Minister for Finance will consider the discussions which have taken place today as well as other discussions with Members and his representatives on the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. The Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, will also be involved and will also take these discussions into consideration.

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