Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)

It is good that the ombudsman will have to appear before an Oireachtas committee, at its request, on an annual or biannual basis. I am slightly concerned about this section of the Bill, which provides for the ombudsman's appearance before "other committees" of the Oireachtas. It needs to be teased out logically. There are 20 Oireachtas committees at present. If an agriculture-based complaint is made against a barrister or a solicitor by a person from a farming background, the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food might want to discuss it with the ombudsman. It is obvious that the complaint might also be said to be relevant to the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights or the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources. It is very loose-ended. When the ombudsman is appointed or nominated, it will be unfortunate if he has to appear before 20 committees of the Oireachtas. It would be an unfair burden of responsibility.

While I have not tabled an amendment to this section, I suggest that the phrase "those committees that are deemed appropriate", to include the Committee of Public Accounts and the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights, be included in this section. It would be unfortunate if the ombudsman were to end up before the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to discuss an agrarian complaint, or before the Joint Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to discuss a marine or fisheries complaint. The remits of some committees overlap. This will be an important function of the ombudsman, who will have an important job. This section, as it stands, seems very open-ended. I would feel sorry for the ombudsperson — male or female — if the circumstances I have suggested turn out to be an unintended consequence of this legislation.