Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I see merit in Oireachtas approval for the disclosures recipient. Given the stature of the type of person envisaged in the legislation, one would hope his or her appointment to the role would not be a matter of controversy, but laying the matter before the Oireachtas would probably be good practice and do no harm.

Regarding Deputy Sean Fleming's second amendment, I have grave reservations about giving any Taoiseach an open-ended ability to remove the recipient from office. The recipient should only be removed for stated misbehaviour or incapacity, particularly after being ratified by the Oireachtas. It would not serve us well to give too much room for manoeuvre, as such removals could be interpreted as political decisions. In this spirit, will the Minister shed some light on the matter? We understand "stated misbehaviour", but what is the Minister's dictionary's version of what "incapacity" means? I also note that the envisaged term of office is five years. As such, it is not a case of instating someone ad infinitumand bearing with him or her until the person goes to his or her great reward.

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