Maria Byrne (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Much of what I had intended to say has been said, but I welcome the Bill and the fact that it will strengthen the Workplace Relations Commission and deliver more transparency to the eligibility of adjudication officers, particularly through the amendment of section 40 of the 2015 Act. I welcome the amendment to section 40(c) of that Act, which will now state:

“(d) if the adjudication officer concerned— (i) is convicted on indictment of an offence,

(ii) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

(iii) has a declaration made against him or her under section 819 of the Companies Act 2014 or is deemed to be subject to such a declaration by virtue of Chapter 5 of Part 14 of that Act, or

(iv) is subject to, or is deemed to be subject to, a disqualification order within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014 whether by virtue of that Chapter or of any other provision of that Act.”,

The amendment zones in on cases where the integrity of the selection and eligibility process for an adjudication officer is compromised by any form of fraud. It is important for transparency. While the Bill is technical and I understand the reason it was brought about, arising from the Supreme Court decision, I pay tribute to the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court because they do an awful lot of fine work. It is about protecting the rights of the employee as well. I welcome the Bill and the amendment I highlighted, and compliment the Minister of State on his work to date in respect of it.