Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Minister and I are each imagining different mischievous actors. There are ranges of mischievous actors. My concern is that I do not see provisions in the Bill in respect of the coimisiún and how there will be an assertion in respect of good faith, what the mechanisms will be in that regard and what are the consequences for authorised officers who are the subject of multiple complaints. If the Minister is insistent on preserving the indemnity clause, I reserve the right to bring forward other amendments that seek to tackle directly the issue of the exploitation of power by an authorised officer not being checked, notwithstanding the indemnity.

I do accept the point that an coimisiún should be ultimately responsible but I believe there also need to be mechanisms that ensure there will be no exploitation of power by an authorised officer. I am worried that the indemnity may create such a circumstance. I do not see a countervailing mechanism whereby there will be an investigation of good faith automatically. If, for example, there is a third complaint against an authorised officer, will there be an investigation on that good faith? Will good faith still apply if multiple people are complaining about how an authorised officer is acting? Will there be consequences in respect of where good faith is not identified?

I accept that the Minister does not want to move with those indemnity clauses and I get that they are standard but I am very conscious of the substantial powers that are being given to authorised officers under the Bill and that is why I want some form of safeguard. I accept that the Minister is not minded to accept these safeguards but I will reserve the right to engage and seek other safeguards on Report Stage, perhaps focusing on the question of good faith and its assertion or investigation, as well as the question of consequences for authorised officers who are found by an coimisiún to have behaved improperly.