Seanad debates

Friday, 17 December 2021

Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages

 

10:00 am

Photo of Peter BurkePeter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senators for their contributions. This amendment seeks to ensure that elected members of a local authority are eligible for appointment as members of the board or a committee of the board of Mara. It is the Government's intention that MARA will become a centre of excellence for maritime usages. I am committed to ensuring the success of the new agency.

On Committee Stage in the Dáil, we moved a number of amendments to address concerns raised on Second Stage. These amendments rebalanced the proposed composition of the MARA board to ensure a broader scope of representation and to facilitate the appointment of a range of members to the MARA board. Also on Committee Stage in the Dáil, Deputies were advised that to ensure confidence in the governance arrangements for MARA, a governance review of the establishment provisions was to be undertaken. The review focused on the code of practice for the governance of State bodies to ensure that the establishment of MARA applies a best-practice approach in order to achieve the highest possible standards of corporate governance.

As Senators are aware, the code of practice for the governance of State bodies covers such matters as the role of the board and chief executive, codes of conduct, ethics in public office and the body's relationship with the Oireachtas, Ministers and its parent Department, as well as business and financial reporting requirements. The review found that the Bill successfully addressed the key governance requirements for a State regulatory body. It noted that the Bill provides a robust framework for the new authority, clearly delineating its corporate status, functions and structure, and defining an appropriate set of relationships internally and externally.

The review was completed in advance of Report Stage in the Dáil, and a number of minor amendments were proposed and accepted on Report Stage, which reflected the best-practice recommendations arising from the review. These included the terms of office of board members, placing the board as a decision maker with regard to the employment of a chief executive officer, and reducing the time for the production of corporate strategies from five years to three years.

I am fully satisfied that the Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021 provides a best practice approach to the governance of MARA from the day of establishment. While there may be requirements in the future to review the composition and corporate structure of MARA, that review should only happen once MARA has become operational and has had the opportunity to show what it can achieve. Following the governance review, I have assurances that MARA, as currently provided for in the text, is wholly sound and balanced. I will not accept any amendments that seek to trouble this balance.

I would like to add that there is nothing in this legislation that prevents an elected member of a local authority from applying for the position of chief executive or for membership of the board of MARA. If he or she were selected and decided to serve with MARA, then he or she could not hold his or her elected position concurrently. This is exactly the same situation as that which pertains to a Member of Seanad Éireann, an elected Deputy or a Member of the European Parliament.

I fully appreciate the intention behind the amendment and the reasoning highlighted by the Senator that the matter raised relates not only to this legislation. I note that this very issue was raised only last week in this House during the Second Stage debate on the Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Bill. It may be more appropriate for the Senator to seek a holistic review of these standard provisions.

As Minister of State with responsibility for local government, I am overseeing reform of the role of local elected members in the context of the Moorhead report. I have listened to the opinions of colleagues and I wholeheartedly agree that local authority elected members do exceptional work in their localities. In that spirit, I commit to looking at the role of elected members, and have done so, in terms of their involvement in State boards as part of the reform programme, which I have outlined many times in this House, and as recently as two weeks ago. However, I am satisfied that the provisions as they stand in this Bill are robust and appropriate in that context. The Senators may wish to consider the amendment in the light of my comments.

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