Willie O'Dea (Limerick East, Fianna Fail)

This amendment proposes to insert into the body of the primary legislation detailed references to matters of administration which I believe would be more properly provided for at the discretion of the ombudsman. We should not micro-manage the investigation system in the primary legislation. The matters referred to do not require an insertion into the primary legislation. As Senator Minihan said, there is broad provision in the Bill in sections 7(1), 7(2), 7(4) and 7(6) and in section 9 as regards the essential aspects of the manner in which the ombudsman is to conduct an investigation.

Section 9(3) states: "The procedure for conducting an investigation shall, subject to any regulations under subsection (5), be such as is considered appropriate by the Ombudsman, having regard to all the circumstances concerned." In other words, procedures should be left to the independent discretion of the ombudsman in each individual case.

The provision of relevant updated information about the state of progress of an investigation to relevant parties, as deemed necessary, would be a basic aspect of administration. Such a matter should not be provided for in a mandatory way in primary legislation because each case will depend on its own facts. Generally speaking, everybody will be kept informed and the regulations will provide for that.