Peter Power (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission came into being on 1 January 2004. The commission is composed of 11 members under the chairmanship of the Ceann Comhairle. The Cathaoirleach of the Seanad is an ex officio member, as is the Clerk of the Dail, who also has the title of Secretary General of the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas. There are also seven ordinary members, four from the Dail and three from the Seanad, who are appointed by the Members of each House, and one representative of the Minister for Finance.

The responsibilities of the commission include the payment of the salaries and allowances of Deputies and Senators, the payment of the salaries of staff, including Members' staff, the payment of certain pensions and the provision of other necessary facilities to enable the business of both Houses to be transacted.

Since its inception, the commission has overseen the smooth running of services in both Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, and has instituted a number of significant improvements in the services provided to Members. Among these was the creation of the new research service for Members which was a major development. This involved increasing the library staff of about 12 by a further 20 to create a research service modelled on international standards. I am told that this has been used by over 90% of Members in the current Dáil and all feedback indicates that it is highly regarded by Members.

The primary purpose of this Bill is to make available the funding for the commission over the coming three years. The current funding comes to an end on 31 December 2009. The Bill proposes in section 6 to make available to the commission a sum not exceeding €360 million to carry out its functions for the three year period from 1 January 2010 to 31 December 2012. This sum has been agreed with the commission and takes into account foreseen expenditure. While it is less than the €393 million provided for the past three years, it must be seen in the context of the current budgetary situation. The proposed funding carefully balances the needs of the commission with the availability of resources during the period.

Members will be well aware that the financial provision for public services will be under severe budgetary pressure in the coming years. With this in mind, the Government will expect there to be a reduced drawdown by the commission from central funds in 2010 onwards as a result of savings on pay arising from the public service pay reductions announced by the Minister for Finance in his budget speech of 9 December last.

In addition to the financial provisions, the Bill provides for renaming the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas as the Houses of the Oireachtas Service. The purpose of this is to strengthen the identity of the service. Members will be aware that the public, and indeed parts of the public service, often find it hard to appreciate the distinction between the elected Members of the Houses, the commission and the administrative staff of the commission, and their respective roles.

The distinct role of the Civil Service staff and senior management structures of the Oireachtas are specifically recognised in the Staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Act 1959. These structures have served both Houses extremely well and remained in place following the establishment of the commission in 2003. However, significant changes in Civil Service management systems have taken place in the 50 years since the Staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Act 1959 came into force and it is accepted that the configuration in that Act, particularly in terms of senior management structures, needs to be modernised. In that regard, the Minister for Finance is committed to ensuring, in co-operation with the commission, that the administrative structures of the Oireachtas do not become out of step with Civil Service norms in terms of adapting flexibly to the needs and demands of modern management practices.

The renaming of the office comprising the staff of the Houses as an entity now to be known as the Houses of the Oireachtas Service does not affect the operations of the service or its relationship with the commission under the 2003 Act. The commission retains all the powers and functions conferred by that Act. However, the change in title may facilitate further development of the service and closer integration of the service with the commission as its governing body in future legislation.

Section 2 provides for this renaming while section 14 and the Schedule, Parts 1 and 2, update the references to the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas in other Acts and statutory instruments.

The Bill includes some technical amendments to the existing legislation and I would like to take the opportunity to present them briefly to the House. Section 3 sets out the advice and support function of the newly named service, which is identical to that currently carried out by the office. Section 4 sets out, in greater detail than heretofore, the functions of the commission in providing for the running of the Houses and its policy-determining and oversight roles. It also includes new measures clarifying the commission's accountability to the Houses for the performance of its functions and its obligation to secure value for money in the use of resources. Finally, the section also clarifies that the charge to be levied by the commission under the existing legislation for the provision of certain services and facilities to outgoing Members following a dissolution of the Dáil is to be for the period of dissolution only.

Section 5 is a new provision for the drawing up of a code of conduct for commission members. While they are already covered by other codes, these are not specific to their role as members of the commission, and a uniform code is desirable in the interests of good governance. The purpose of section 7 is to bring the process for removal of a commission member more into line with that used for Oireachtas committees.

The 2003 Act specified that Oireachtas staff who were civil servants before the establishment day continued to be civil servants after that day but did not legislate specifically for those appointed subsequently. Section 8 amends the original section to include both categories in the civil servant classification. The objective of section 9 is to amend the original legislation to provide a statutory basis for the procedures to be followed by the commission if a Supplementary Estimate is required in any year. This is in line with current practice since the establishment of the commission. Section 10 is a new provision setting out the role, membership and functions of the audit committee. The commission's audit committee is currently established on a non-statutory basis and has been in place since 2004. The section reflects the current membership and practice with the exception that it proposes that the commission may appoint up to three external members where currently it has two.

I wish to draw attention to one amendment that was made in this section by the Seanad. This was to insert a new subsection (10)(b) to state, effectively, that, in addition to advising the Secretary General on financial matters, the audit committee shall also advise the commission on matters of corporate governance relating to its functions. The subsection in question provides that the audit committee reports to the commission on its activities at least once a year. The Minister for Finance was happy to propose this amendment and I believe Deputies will agree that it makes for an improved Bill in that the commission members will be fully advised by the audit committee on all corporate governance matters within its areas of responsibility. I should, at this stage, recognise the contribution of Senator Joe O'Toole in framing this particular amendment.

Section 11, which replaces section 15 of the 2003 Act, updates the provisions of that legislation by designating the Clerk of Dáil Éireann as Secretary General of the Houses of the Oireachtas Service and chief executive of the commission. It also designates the Secretary General as the officer accountable for the commission's accounts. Section 12 expands on the Secretary General's functions as set out in the 2003 Act, including accountability to the commission for ensuring economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the use of commission resources and the preparation a statement of values for the service. The section also clarifies the Secretary General's role vis-À-vis the commission in relation to various other statutory functions.

Section 13 restates the commission's responsibilities in relation to injury claims made by secretarial assistants employed by Oireachtas members or political parties. It also repeals the relevant sections of earlier Acts which it supersedes.

The usual definitions, Short Title, collective citation and commencement provisions are contained in sections 1 and 15. It is intended that the Bill will come into effect on 1 January next year.

Most of the proposed changes are minor or technical in nature. They are intended to give greater clarity and functionality to the legislation underpinning the service on which we all rely. Deputies will appreciate that the process of updating the legislation is an ongoing one. I have no doubt that in a few years time other, and possibly more significant, changes including, as I have signalled, to the Staff of the Houses of the Oireachtas Act 1959, will be required to keep up to date with best practice and developments in the way our parliamentary business is done and wider developments in public service management. The three-yearly budgetary process is valuable not just in facilitating financial planning, but also in giving an opportunity to reflect on the adequacy of the structures underpinning the management of our institutions and their funding.

To conclude, the Bill is designed to enable the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to continue to provide the services which have facilitated both Houses in the carrying out of their work over the past six years and to facilitate the further development of those services. I believe Members will agree that these objectives are worth pursuing. It is important also to point out that the changes proposed in this Bill have been approved by the commission. Accordingly, I commend the Bill to the House.

See this speech in context