Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I understand what the Minister has said in terms of the discussions he has had with the representative body and I respect that. Senator O'Meara is correct. This is a matter for the Oireachtas. Legislation and the passage of law in our country is a matter for the Oireachtas and while we must be mindful of the discussions that take place outside the House we, as legislators, have a role to play and we have to ensure that the body of law we put in place today and the start-up we give to the new ombudsman is the best available.

I am not convinced by the Minister's arguments. What we need in the area of ombudsman, whether for the Defence Forces, regulatory authorities and so on, is a new standardised Bill that will deal in a conclusive manner with its functions. We do not have such a Bill. We cannot start calling an ombudsman an ombudsman if he or she is not being given the power in place in other jurisdictions as a result of good practice built up over many years. Nothing would be lost in the legislation by the acceptance of the Senator O'Meara's amendment and mine, if anything we would gain.

I am a little concerned by the Minister's comment that an agreement was broached which is now being put to the House and that the House must accept it as a de facto position irrespective of our obligations to introduce best practice into the new role. We are not taking anything away from the ombudsman, we are giving him or her something new, the kind of power he or she may need and we are giving discretion to that person to show good judgment. Inevitably the person the Government will select will be of sound judgment, have expertise in the area of public administration and can make a distinction between an issue which is wholly erroneous and one that has to have its light shone upon it.

There is merit in these amendments because we are adding to the office of this ombudsman, we are improving it not taking from it. People should not be afraid of this new role. Given the culture in the Defence Forces and the upstairs, downstairs attitude that sometimes exist, we must ensure the best possible standard is in place for everyone. I repeat the point I made earlier that this is an addition to the important role the Government has wisely introduced in this legislation. It is not a subtraction, it will not lead the ombudsman down culs-de-sac, rather it will give him or her the power to decide what needs to be examined. There should be a standardised approach to the office of ombudsman. I support the amendments.