Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The provision in Schedule 2 represents standard practice concerning complaints and the procedures for Rights Commissioners. I heard the Deputy's contribution today and on Committee Stage, but the workings of the Rights Commissioner Service's mechanisms is a matter for the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, not me. However, the Minister is addressing these issues and the arrangements for the administration of the rights commission complaints system are being examined. He is working on a new, more efficient system. Those proposals will be made to the House by way of legislation before too long. That will be the appropriate vehicle to propose a change in how the system works, not a Bill that is not the purview of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. As the Deputy knows, the two-tier system is being integrated. A simpler, more efficient and time-bound system will be proposed.

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