Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Section 28 sets out that the Central Statistics Office and Ordnance Survey Ireland, OSI, shall provide assistance to the commission in its work free of charge. This section transposes existing legislation relating to constituency reviews. The amendment proposes to add to this section that the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission will also provide assistance free of charge.

Section 40(3) of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act 2014 provides that the IHREC shall assist public bodies in carrying out their functions, having regard to eliminating discrimination, promoting equality of opportunity and treatment to staff and recipients of services, as well as protecting the human rights of members, staff and recipients of services.

I do not propose to accept the amendment as the service provided by the IHREC to public bodies is already specified under section 40(3) of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Act. The assistance of the Office of Public Works and OSI to the electoral commission, which is legislated for in section 28, relates to the carrying out of core functions of the commission and the transposition of existing legislation.