Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 2:

In page 3, lines 26 and 27, to delete ?or an exempt agency?.

Seeing the two Wexford men on the other side of the House, I am reminded of the line, ?To burst in twain the galling chain and free our native land?. That is the objective we all have and I am here to assist the Minister to make a major breakthrough in our democracy. No agencies should be exempt from democratic accountability. The concept is foreign to what the Minister was saying on the legislation last week. What is wrong with society in many ways is that agencies categorise themselves as exempt. The aim of the legislation is to extend the Ombudsman?s remit. The exempt agency is a null concept running against these principles.

The body of the law exempts matters before the courts, financial matters and industrial relations as the machinery is in place to deal with them. The courts will decide on issues of referral to the Ombudsman. The concept of an exempt agency that is outside the law is too much like the public administration that failed us in the past and should be part of the Minister?s reform agenda. All agencies, apart from those covered by the courts, financial and industrial relations matters, should be within the remit of the legislation. State agencies must know that if they annoy citizens, the Ombudsman will come around. In the spirit of what the Minister said to us last week, which I commend, the concept of an exempt agency is a contradiction in terms.