Paddy Burke (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 3, before section 2, to insert the following new section:

2.—The Minister shall be politically accountable to Dáil Éireann for the activities and actions of—

(a) the National Roads Authority,

(b) the Road Safety Authority, and

(c) the proposed Dublin Transport Authority.".

We have tabled this amendment on a number of occasions. It puts the responsibility for answering parliamentary questions onto the Minister because the situation which now obtains is not satisfactory. When a Minister is asked a question on the National Roads Authority he passes the buck by saying it is the responsibility of the authority. Such a situation also applies in regard to the Health Service Executive. When local authority or Oireachtas Members ask questions relating to the HSE the Minister for Health and Children similarly passes the buck. The amendment makes the Minister for Transport accountable for the National Roads Authority, the Road Safety Authority and the proposed Dublin transport authority by compelling him to answer relevant questions. It is a reasonable amendment whereby such bodies would be made accountable to the Dáil, which represents real democracy.