Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I want to ask the Minister for clarification on two key points. The Minister has given us, to some degree, his interpretation of the Act but there have been ambiguous interpretations of that Act, including within the process that SIPTU has been engaging with. There has been some sense that the human resources department has to go and talk to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform directly, and it will say it is waiting for authorisation from the Department and is not in a position to negotiate.

On the point I put to the Minister on the very first question, we need to make that explicitly clear. There are differences of opinion among officials as to exactly how the flow of decision-making would work. The Minister said the role of his Department is to advise him and that the commission brings the proposals to him. I want to be very clear. Is it the Minister's understanding that the human resources department which is, of course, ultimately under the remit of the commission, goes back to the members of the commission? The commission, as I understand it, and as I think the Minister understands it, is the members of the commission - that is what the commission is. Therefore, it is human resources going back to the members of the commission, and then the members of the commission, or the commission as a whole, bringing a proposal to the Minister, at which point his officials may advise him. I hope he will also advise them of the importance and urgency of the matters at hand but being explicitly clear about who is reporting to who when, and who is checking with who when, is going to be crucial. There have been long meetings and years of meetings, but if we want this meeting in January to be different, it needs to be very clear exactly what happens next in a staged process.

I welcome, and it makes it easier not to press the recommendation, that the Minister has indicated he will come back to this House. Will he confirm he is happy to come back to this House within six months to discuss his role in this engagement? That will make it very much easier again for us in that regard.