Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate the first part of the Minister’s answer to the effect that this has always been the practice and should, therefore, continue. That does not really answer the question around why we are trying to exclude members of local authorities. It certainly makes sense that where a conflict of interest arises, people should have to step outside the room. It also makes sense where there is a conflict with regard to any of the functions of the commission. However, where somebody who has the necessary expertise qualifies, we should not exclude that person simply because he or she is a local authority member.

The Minister made reference to other member states. I have looked at this at this issue and in many member states, local authority members are not excluded. They can hold their local authority membership, while working for state agencies and boards.

To address my second amendment, whatever about the seven full-time commissioners, given the serious nature of the role of members of the commission, to exclude members of staff of the commission, which, from a reading of the Bill, may even include clerical and administrative staff, from running and getting involved in local government is a nonsense.

I ask the Minister to look at this again and come back on Report Stage. I appreciate, as colleagues have also said, that this a problem across all areas of government with regard to appointments. We are going to continue to exclude more and more categories of people from running as local authority members. I entirely take the Minister’s point that there cannot be any perception of damage being done to the commission. However, I made the point earlier that there is no bar, for instance, for somebody who may an adjunct professor of media being appointed as a commissioner or becoming a senior member of staff within this organisation. He or she, during the course of lectures or public comments, may say something that would arguably bring the commission into disrepute. I do not accept the logic that the Minister is applying in this case. I ask her to engage before Report Stage with the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, who responded to me this morning on a Commencement matter around this general principled issue. It is something we have brought up in this House a number of times. We will not get more good people involved in local government if we continue to narrow their career advancement opportunities. That is what this Bill is doing.