Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The effect of the combined amendments to section 19 is, in general, to increase the number of members of the commission by adding additional office holders to its membership, namely the Ombudsman and the Comptroller and Auditor General. Furthermore, amendment No. 35 seeks to drop two current members. The Bill provides that the commission is chaired by a judge of the High Court and includes two other office holders, the Clerks of the Dáil and Seanad and two other persons with knowledge or experience in the field of information technology. This is a reasonable balance without an overly large membership, which is what is required for the commission to carry out the specific task with which it has been assigned.

There is no statutory or other obligation for either of the two office holders mentioned in the amendments to serve on the commission, which has a specific task which does not relate to their official functions. In addition, there are good arguments for not having too many persons on the commission so that it operates efficiently and cohesively.

The proof of the pudding is in the eating and the commission has clearly operated effectively, independently and well and has produced a comprehensive interim report within a very tight time frame. It will no doubt continue to carry out its functions accordingly and I see no reason for an increase in its membership at this stage in mid-stream, nor do I see a need to replace the two members drawn from the field of information technology, which would be the effect of amendment No. 35.

In the circumstances, I cannot accept the amendments in this case. That is no reflection on the Ombudsman or the Comptroller and Auditor General. The commission is not similar to the Boundary Commission or other commissions referred to and it is essential we have a proper balance and that there are persons on the commission with experience in the field of information technology. Two of the members of the commission are thus qualified. It is not a question of anyone being excluded from the commission but rather one of them not being included.