Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

There have been incredible delays in all of this. It is 14 months since the review report was published. We know the important areas that are covered by it. We should not have any further delay. It is 20 years now since SIPO started identifying the serious gaps in its powers. It is supposed to be a watchdog but it seems to be more of a lapdog at this stage because of the failure of successive Governments to give it the powers it so desperately needs. In its annual report every year, SIPO identifies all the areas where it simply does not have the powers to do the job it should be doing.

The Minister will also be aware that over the term of this Government, there have been a number of instances where it was shown that SIPO did not have adequate legislative powers to deal with issues that arose in respect of members of Government and some other Oireachtas Members as well. All of that undermines public confidence in politics. There is an urgency about this. The heads of the Bill are not listed for priority drafting in the legislative programme. I am asking the Minister the timeline for the production of the heads of the Bill at least. Is there any prospect at all of this legislation being passed before the next general election?

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