Jim McDaid (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)

We have accepted the principle of the Senator's amendment in the Dáil. Section 29(2)(c) now provides that the annual report and accounts must be presented to the Oireachtas within three months of being presented to the Minister.

Amendment No. 4 refers to Members losing their ability to make representations and Ministers not being accountable to the House. As I said to the Dáil, it has been agreed by the Government and the Opposition that we set up the commission as an independent body. As a consequence of that, the reasons the commission makes decisions to refuse licences cannot be the subject of questions to the Minister in the Dáil. The Minister is, however, responsible for all matters of policy and will be answerable in the Dáil by way of parliamentary questions from any Member. However, the commission is an independent body and cannot be brought to task by a Senator or Deputy as to why a person did or did not obtain a taxi licence. It must have that degree of independence. The commission will be responsible to any committee of the House, normally the transport committee.

The substance of amendment No. 4 was the subject of detailed debate in the Lower House. As I pointed out on that occasion, the Bill establishes clear lines of responsibility for both the Minister and the commission in terms of their respective areas of responsibility to the Houses of the Oireachtas. The Minister for Transport retains overall control of the legislative framework within which the provisions of this Bill will be broadly pursued and he or she is answerable to the Oireachtas in regard to such matters. Accepting this amendment would mean that operational matters and decisions which must, of necessity, be determined by the commission would be the subject of detailed questioning in the Houses. The Bill provides in clear terms that the commission is required to report to the committees of the Houses as required.

The provisions in the Bill on accountability and the response to the debate in the Lower House led the sponsoring Deputy to withdraw that amendment. One cannot have an independent body being asked why a person did not get a licence on every occasion. The reasons may be personal and it might be to the benefit of the applicant that this information should not be disclosed. That is why I ask the Senator to withdraw this amendment.

Amendment, by leave, withdrawn

Amendment No. 4 not moved.

Section 29 agreed to.

Sections 30 to 32, inclusive, agreed to.

SECTION 33.