Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

It is a very generous gesture of the part of the Taoiseach and the Government.

One item to note in the Bill is in section 3, which provides that as well as providing for the running of the Houses of the Oireachtas and having charge of the Office of the Houses, the provision of translation services in respect of Acts of the Oireachtas is also a function of the commission. It is appropriate that the commission should have this function and it is taken into account in the funding to be provided.

In the same section, there is provision that the commission may prepare and publish guidelines for members of the Dáil and the Seanad regarding the use of services provided for out of public funds. This, which was sought by the commission, is an enabling provision; it will be for the commission to draw up and publish the guidelines. This must be done with full regard to the Constitution. The Bill also includes some minor amendments to a number of sections of the 2003 Act. In most cases their purpose is to provide clarification of functions or procedures where this has been considered desirable in the interests of full clarity and transparency.

In summary, I commend the Bill to the House to enable the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to continue with its excellent work which, Members will agree, has proven of great benefit to parliamentarians of both Houses over the past three years.