Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

As I have already stated to Deputy Varadkar, the intent behind this targeted and focused Bill is to deal with a specific issue which has arisen, that is, to allow the Minister to fill immediate vacancies in the Competition Authority for the duration of the period while the Public Appointments Service completion is being held. Upcoming vacancies would have the effect of reducing membership of the authority to below the statutory minimum requirement and would impede the proper functioning of the authority. The Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, is concerned that an improperly constituted authority would be unable to fulfil its statutory obligations and that any decisions made by members in such circumstances could be open to legal challenge. Of particular concern are those functions specifically reserved by statute for the authority acting as a collective decision-making body.

However, it is important to understand that the temporary appointments provided for in the Bill are not appointments to the board of a public body. The Competition Authority does not have an external board. Rather it has members appointed pursuant to section 35 of the Competition Act 2002 following a Public Appointments Service competition. Given the potential consequences of a move to an Oireachtas scrutiny model for the appointment of members to a State body, it would be more appropriate, on the grounds of good governance, fairness, equity and transparency, that such proposals and any structures put in place are proposed for consideration in terms of their universal application for appointments in all State bodies. The concept should be properly researched and debated to determine if it is an appropriate model.

Deputy Penrose raised the issue of the Towards 2016 commitment in respect of certain classes of vulnerable workers, including voice-over actors, freelance journalists and session musicians, as well as the issue of exemptions from competition law for certain professions. This issue is being considered in the context of developing the consumer and competition Bill, which, it is hoped, will be published later this year. In all cases, any such exemption would have to be consistent with EU competition law. Therefore, I am unable to accept the proposed amendments.

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