Sheila Terry (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 20:

In page 14, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following new subsection:

"(2) A liaison officer shall be independent in the performance of his or her functions.".

The amendment seeks to ensure that the liaison officer will be independent in the carrying out of his or her duties, in the same way as the assessment officer will be independent. The legislation provides that the assessment officer should be independent. I would welcome the Minister of State's comments to see how he feels about this amendment.