Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 76:

In page 76, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: “(3) A relevant Minister shall, for the purpose of section 99(5), notify the Director concerned in writing of the dissolution day at least 6 months in advance of that day.”.

Amendments Nos. 76, 77 and 78 are mine, while amendment No. 79 is from Deputies Funchion and Ward. This was an aspect we discussed in some detail on Committee Stage. As we know, a report will be coming from an agency set up under this legislation and will be published. Deputies wished to ensure that the director of the agency would be able to come before an Oireachtas joint committee to discuss the report. Specifically, the concern was to ensure that the dissolution of the agency coinciding with the publication of the report would not mean that there was no director to come before a joint committee. I refer to a measure to enhance accountability. Therefore, we engaged with the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel and we have brought forward a mechanism we believe addresses this aspect.

Amendments Nos. 77 and 78 address Deputies' concerns by providing that a director will be required to submit a final report to the relevant Minister at least 12 weeks before the day on which the agency is dissolved. The relevant Minister will then be required to lay the report before the Dáil within six weeks of receiving it. This timeline will, at a minimum, provide for a guaranteed six-week window during which a director could be called before an Oireachtas joint committee to discuss the report prior to dissolution day.

Amendment No. 76 is a consequential amendment that provides that the relevant Minister must notify a director at least six months in advance of the day proposed to be the dissolution day. This will ensure the director will be given sufficient notice to prepare the final report. I hope this addresses the issues raised by Deputies.

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