Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Fianna Fáil supports this Bill, which is technical legislation that must be passed every three years to provide for expenditure incurred by the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. Without it, staff salaries would not be paid in 2019. This Bill permits money to be provided by the Central Fund. The commission is an independent body but it needs a budget. This Bill will give the commission a budget of €422.27 million from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2021. This money will be used to run the Dáil, Seanad and committees and to pay staff working for the Houses of the Oireachtas. There are a number of other technical provisions in the Bill. Most notably, sections 5 and 6 will place the PBO and the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers on an independent statutory footing.These offices will be independent bodies within the commission. I am pleased to be a member of the commission. It is a body which works exceptionally well under the chairmanship of the Ceann Comhairle, who gives it 100% of his time and attention. We have the privilege of being served by some leading members of staff, including our acting Clerk of the Seanad, who is present. I am also able to access advice and information at the highest level. There will naturally always be a certain amount of tension between the commission and the permanent government in the Department. Without going into any details, that kind of tension can be healthy. However, it is important to remember that the commission was set up to independently run these Houses, and it is important that we preserve and protect it at all times.