Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On amendments Nos. 39 and 40, there is a Public Appointments Service but, as the Minister mentioned, it draws from the civil and public service code. The concern is that is often for generalists, it is focused on a high-calibre person, and a person who has probity, is trustworthy and moves between roles but what is needed here is expertise. There is quite a bit of precedent for setting out very clear requirements.We were very clear in our amendment. We do not prescriptively say that any individual must meet these standards and seem to interfere in the process there. We are not interfering with any of the functions of the Public Appointments Service in recommending or of the Minister in approving. We simply say that in performing their functions they should seek to ensure that there is an appropriate balance of knowledge. That is really important because it is not simply to do with the calibre of the individuals; that is not in question and the Public Appointments Service does that very well. It is about ensuring that the commission as a whole is equipped with core expertise and knowledge.

The Minister may like how we have framed it or she may prefer her own wording. However, we should have an examination of the functions and should give some thought to what some of the key skills are. The broadcasting legislation was mentioned and it would be interesting to examine that. I think that climate legislation is another important example. This is key because the commission will not simply be one of the most important regulators in the State but probably one of the most important regulators in Europe.

I had not realised that amendment No. 40 was in this grouping. I thank the Minister for responding to it. It relates to the public duty on equality and human rights. I reserve the right that we might come back. Every public body in the State has a positive duty to promote equality and human rights - not simply not to discriminate, but to actively promote. There is a very uneven understanding of that responsibility. In the reporting of the commission, obviously we are not creating new law here, but we are trying to almost remind and ensure that there is thought given and that it is reflected. We suggested including it here in the performance of functions. I may come back with an amendment to it in the reporting on the performance of functions. Perhaps that is a more appropriate way to approach it.

I do not want to anticipate what the Minister might have to say about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. However, I remind her that it has been ratified. It is law and it is an obligation on the State. The optional protocol allows for the individual complaints mechanism. That may be one of the reasons we want to get it into legislation early because if we wait a while, we can end up waiting a long time. The optional protocol to it is still to be brought through. The actual articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities are there and have been ratified by Ireland. Its operation should be reflected in our legislation. Because it is a new commitment that the State has made, it would be really appropriate. The audiovisual directive contains very explicit language on disability and inclusion being one of the core purposes of that directive. It would be appropriate for that to be referenced in some way here.