Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 4, subsection (2), lines 37 and 38, to delete "the recommendation of the Government." and substitute the following:

"(a) the nomination of the Government, and

(b) the passage of resolutions by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann recommending the appointment.".

I congratulate the Minister for Defence on his appointment. Just as the Minister was reshuffled, I have recently been honoured by being made the spokesperson for defence on this side of the House, along with other duties. I look forward to working with the Minister.

In our nine amendments, we on this side of the House have proposed what we believe are beneficial additions to the legislation. The Minister knows the position of the Fine Gael Party regarding support for this Bill in both Houses. As the Minister is aware, the position of ombudsman is nominated by the Government before appointment by the President. On the appointment of Ms Emily O'Reilly to the position of Ombudsman, a resolution was put before both Houses of the Oireachtas. Fine Gael believes it would be wise to have the same process in regard to the ombudsman for the Defence Forces. We are not in any way countering the Government's view in regard to the nomination but think a positive resolution by both Houses following a debate would be good for the office and the office holder. It would be bad practice for Parliament if somebody was plucked from nowhere and appointed to this very senior office without parliamentary scrutiny. A recent report of this House recommended there should be some form of parliamentary scrutiny in regard to major Government appointments.

The amendment aims to allow the nomination of the Government to occur in the normal way, as it would in regard to the Garda ombudsman proposed in the Garda Síochána Bill currently before the House and the Ombudsman, Ms O'Reilly. A resolution would have to be passed in both Houses to allow the Government to state the name of the person. Whether a debate occurs, that is fine. However, this would be a way of bringing Parliament into the process of appointing this important office holder.