Michael McDowell (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Before the Minister comes in, there was another point I wished to make. I want to draw the attention of the House to the provisions of section 51, which states: "Without prejudice to section 53(2), the Procedures Committee may, as it considers appropriate for the purpose of assisting the Committee in the performance of its functions under this Part, consult with the President of each court (save a President who is a member of that Committee)." As I understand it, that last part in brackets would have to come out in any event. Section 51 continues: "The Procedures Committee may request submissions or observations, within such period as is specified in the request, from any person that it considers appropriate for the purpose of assisting the Committee in the performance of its functions under this Part." Those functions include drawing up these statements.

What about the Government? The commission is given the right to consult anybody it likes, as it sees fit. The one body that does not feature in this consultative process is the Government itself. I cannot see, since the Attorney General is on this commission, why he or she cannot bring the drafts to Government and ask what it makes of this and express a view one way or another about some of the proposed criteria. I cannot see any reason that should not be done. It is strange there is a discretion to consult with the presidents of each court, and a discretion to seek comments from other persons, but there is no obligation to go to the one organ of State entitled to make the ultimate decision to see what it makes of the proposed statements.

However, section 51(1) ends with a bracketed phrase, "(save a President who is a member of that Committee)." As I understand it, Dáil Éireann amended the Bill to include every president of every court as an ex officiomember of the committee, so this section 51 is a bit of a remnant of an older version of this Bill. That apart, I make the point that the entitlement under section 51(2) of the Minister's text to consult with other persons lies very strangely with there being no obligation to consult with the Government in regard to the criteria.

The interesting thing is that section 51(3) states: "The Procedures Committee shall, in the performance of the function to which the consultation referred to in subsection (1), or the submissions or observations referred to in subsection (2) relate, consider the outcome of such consultations and such submissions or observations as are received within the period specified in the request referred to in subsection (2)." Perhaps the Minister will confirm that it is now his intention to delete section 51(2) since all the presidents are now ex officiomembers of this commission. If there is a duty to consider the submissions it has received, surely there should be an obligation to consult the Government and to get its observations.