Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

The subsections proposed for deletion by the amendment are standard provisions found throughout many legislative measures dealing with the accountability of the chief executive to Oireachtas committees other than the Committee of Public Accounts. The provision exempting CEOs from being required to give account of a matter before a court or a tribunal is important to ensure the integrity of such proceedings is protected.

On the issue of CEOs expressing views on the merits of Government policy, it is very important that CEOs are only required to account for the performance of their own organisation in carrying out Government policy and the various functions given to it by the Oireachtas. I agree with Senator Barrett that it is healthy and wise to have ongoing and effective debate, and indeed dissent, as to how we should implement education policy in this country. However, it is not the role of the CEO to get involved in that process in a public manner. Perhaps the CEO, and I am sure this is the case, will have the opportunity to have internal discussions with the Minister on a regular basis. The forum and opportunity for that debate and dissent is the Houses of the Oireachtas. That is where that type of discussion should take place. Once we arrive at a conclusion as to what policy direction we should take, it is the role of the CEO to move his organisation along that path, not to question it any further.