Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I listened very carefully to everything the Deputy said. The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission under law has a statutory function in preparing guidelines for Members on the use of all accommodation in the Houses. The Office of the Superintendent of the Houses supports the commission in carrying out this statutory function. These guidelines indicate that in the event of difficulty or disagreement about the enforcing of the guidelines, the matter will be decided upon by the Ceann Comhairle in his or her capacity as chairperson of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. The guidelines are for the advantage of every Member of the House, and the proposed amendment would, in my judgment, ultimately reduce the powers of the independently elected Chair of Dáil Éireann to make decisions in the event of disagreements or disputes. My honest view of what is right is this is a better way than giving it to any administrator who would be caught in a political controversy, as the Deputy has indicated, and this is not a fair or reasonable place to put any administrator in the House.

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