Eamon Ryan (Dublin Bay South, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Senator Higgins has got it absolutely right. The reason the Minister's opinion is recognised is that the Minister has a role and a place in this, with the Department responsible for administering, delivering and managing this process. I look forward to Minister Higgins or Minister Warfield fulfilling that role that in the future.

I will not be able to accept these amendments. Those words are not included in the Bill as an opt-out clause or a weakening of the language. It is the exact opposite. If we do not give the Minister responsibility for these things, they will become administrative actions. It is right and appropriate for us as elected representatives of the people, in our form of parliamentary democracy whereby we form a Government which forms a Cabinet, not to undermine the role of the Minister. We must recognise the need to retain that power and understand that doing something administratively does not necessarily bring benefits or strength. That is the core of our system. We have a Cabinet and, akin to the way we trust a jury of 12 citizens to make difficult judicial decisions, in the administration of our government we trust a Cabinet and its members to make those decisions. That is no disrespect to our public servants and their skill and critical and important role but, in the end, the democratically elected political system is responsible for delivering the actions of the Government. It is almost the exact opposite of what the Senators are saying. The whole Bill is structured around this approach and we should not shy away from holding Ministers to account and giving them authority and responsibility.

As regards publishing opinions and so on, we have a mechanism in our Parliament, that is, in the Seanad and the Dáil, whereby Ministers are held accountable and are on the record. What we say here is written down, recorded live and transmitted to the country in a way that is completely transparent and unbiased. Even our mechanisms of speaking through the Chair and so on are part of that process. That is our process of transparency and accountability.

It is appropriate that Ministers have this responsibility in this section and in a variety of other ways. I understand the Senators' intentions but I tend to the take the contrary view because I see this wording as a strength, not a weakness.