Frank Fahey (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

It was an amendment. Amendment No. 36 seeks to extend the timescale from six weeks to six months. I see no benefit in extending the period of appeal for such a long time. The time period in the Bill is in line with other legislation. The Government amendments made in the Dáil on Report Stage struck a fair balance between what is envisaged by the Senator and the provisions of the Bill as published. In the circumstances, I do not propose to accept the amendment.

Section 18(12) provides for an oral hearing of an appeal at the discretion of an appeals officer. Amendment No. 37 would oblige the appeals officer to hold an oral hearing if requested by the applicant. Given that the appeals officer is an independent statutory officer empowered to administer the appeals process under Part 2, it is for him or her to make the decision as to whether it is appropriate in a particular case to hold an oral hearing. Allowing an applicant to an appeal to oblige the appeals officer to follow a particular procedure does not seem consistent with the concept of an independent statutory officer. The rights of the other party in the appeal must also be considered.

Another relevant point is that section 18 allows the appeals officer considerable discretion in matching procedures to the circumstances in each case. This provision goes a long way towards ensuring that the needs of the applicant are taken into account. The overall principle with regard to appeals is that the appeals officer has statutory responsibility for the appeals process and must be fully in charge of its administration. As Senators O'Rourke and Kett said, we have tried to reach a fair balance through the amendments we agreed with the Opposition parties in the Dáil. I do not intend to make further alterations.