Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This section relates to a point I will address in section 32 on recommendations to the Minister, whereby all those involved in a meeting make recommendations to the Minister. I simply note that in section 31 the facilitator has been appointed by the Minister. In that context, the concerns I am going to raise in relation to section 32 may be addressed in the implementation of section 31.

My concern in section 32 is that recommendations to the Minister require the agreement of all who are those present at the meeting. We should never have a situation where, if there are strong recommendations, the facilitators, who are, as we see in section 31, appointed by the Minister, should effectively act as a filter whereby those recommendations from women do not reach the Minister.

I will come again to the concern I have on section 32. They are intertwined but perhaps the Minister can assure me that in his or her appointment under section 31, it would not be the intention of the Minister that the facilitator appointed would serve to block or effectively ensure that only recommendations pleasing to the Minister would be put forward.