Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal North East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

While there have been some improvements, the Minister has not accepted the proposal that there be 13 members on the authority, which would give her scope for including very relevant organisations. If she is arguing that ICTU and IBEC do not need to be there because it is not a social partnership model, why would she exclude organisations such as the Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, and the Northside Community Law Centre, which are not-for-profit organisations that are advocates? Why not widen the participation of those organisations? While I welcome the inclusion of IHREC, there is a deficit. Given that the Bill will also go before the Seanad, the Minister could consider widening the board to 13 and making provision for a number of those advocacy groups? If the Minister cannot accept the amendment here and how, I ask her to reflect on it. Although the Legal Aid Board is included, the omission of FLAC and ICCL is serious. I ask the Minister to reconsider it.

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