Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 24b:

In page 36, after line 37, to insert the following:

"(5) Each committee, not later than 30 June in each year, shall prepare and submit to the Board, a report on its membership and the performance by it of its functions in the immediately preceding year, or in the case of the period from the date the Board is first appointed to the next following 30 June, that period. Such reports shall be available to the Minister and Oireachtas committees on request.".

Amendments Nos. 24b, 24c and 24d all relate to one of the more concerning aspects of the proposed governance structure. Again I hope that, as the Minister of State has indicated his willingness to examine how we can make the data governance board more transparent, he may also view this constructively. The concern here is that the data governance board, with its six to 12 members appointed by the Minister, may also establish subcommittees. These subcommittees seem to have almost no rules around their operation, excepting that they must include one board member. I appreciate and recognise that the Minister of State is proposing to reassure us on this matter on Report Stage but we are looking at a very concerning scenario in which we could have a board made up of a number of members from public bodies or other ex officio members which could establish committees. That has the potential to be highly non-transparent. These are committees whose membership does not necessarily pass through the Public Appointments Service or even through any formal appointment process. These are simply committees made up of any people, with one board member present. One could have a committee of ten, five or 20 members including one board member.

There is a lack of clarity around the committees and their role. Having served on boards myself, I am aware that situations arise in which a large amount of power is effectively delegated to a subcommittee. I recognise that the subcommittees can only give advice and make recommendations to the main board but we have all seen situations in which a subcommittee of a board effectively puts things to that board for rubber-stamping. It is really important that these subcommittees are transparent if they are to have a key advisory role in respect of these important decisions being made in respect of our law, our practices and the practices of different bodies in respect of data sharing and the thousands of data sharing agreements that might be signed.

These are reasonable amendments. I have not proposed to do away with the committees despite the negative things I am saying about them. I recognise they may have a role but I have suggested that each committee should prepare and submit to the board an annual report on its performance of its functions and on its members to ensure transparency around its membership. I have also suggested that each subcommittee that might be established with these non-elected and non-nominated members should expire after two years, excepting if its membership and mandate in formally renewed by the board, to ensure we do not have a situation of embedded power. I am just trying to make sure that there is an accountable decision in the minutes of the data governance board at least every two years which says whether it wants to continue with a given subcommittee in order that we do not have subcommittees made up of individuals who have neither been selected by the Minister nor by the Public Appointments Service and who may be in place for five or ten years at a time. It is really important that we have regular check-ins to ensure accountability in that regard.

Again, these are very reasonable amendments. They literally just require an annual report from the committees and a renewal of mandate every two years. In line with this, amendment No. 24d is really a technical amendment which ensures that the report which the data governance board will send to the Minister would include information on the activities of its committees and subcommittees. Again, I hope the Minister of State might be able to accept these amendments.