Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 22:

In page 9, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following:“(f) Secretaries General and Assistant Secretaries General;”.

These amendments are self-explanatory and are designed to immediately bring the class of officers specified in the amendments within the ambit of this legislation. The Minister has stated his intention to bring in these people gradually and that he will adopt a gradualist approach. However, he has not convinced me there is a logistical reason or a cost issue to prevent them from being brought in at once. There does not appear to be a major issue preventing this from being done at once.

The Minister made the point that sometimes, the top-level officials do not have all the power or say-so on nitty-gritty matters. I make the point that chief executive officers of local authorities and many directors of services have more power in day-to-day matters than does the Minister himself or than do Secretaries General or assistant secretaries in terms of what they can implement. The chief executive of a local authority effectively has absolute power within that local authority and such officers certainly should be brought within the ambit of the legislation. I am unsure whether the Minister has outlined his position in respect of them but they should be brought in immediately as they are at the same level as Secretaries General and assistant secretaries. As for principal officers and private secretaries being brought in, although I have lobbied a private secretary about a school or similar matters, I find it hard to imagine-----