Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As the amendments are grouped, I have a more general response.

Amendment No. 50 relates to section 72. It sets out the standard terms under which the Commissioner is required to appear before the committees.

Amendment No. 51 is similar and sets out the terms under which the Commissioner is required to appear before a committee other than the public accounts committee.

Amendment No. 66 relates to the director of the national office before the Oireachtas committees as well.

Amendments Nos. 106 and 107 relate to the accountability for accounts of authority under section 140, in particular the attendance of chief executive of the authority before the Oireachtas committees.

Amendments Nos. 126 and 127 concern section 187 of the Bill and relate to accountability for accounts for the police ombudsman and attendance of the police ombudsman before the Oireachtas committees.

While all of the amendments concern different offices, they all have the same effect overall. Each of the sections concerned currently contains a provision that ensures the relevant officeholders shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government, a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such policies. That is, not allowing them to get into not just the policy itself but the detail of it and the potential implications of that policy on any individual or any potential cases. In the first instance, there are standard provisions across the Statute Book appearing in various enactments, mainly in section 15 of the compellability of witnesses Act 1997.

Second, some of the officeholders in question, the Commissioner and police ombudsman in particular, have specific functions with regard to their organisations. It is the Minister and the Government as whole who are responsible on any matter of policy, not the individual officeholder. Therefore, it is appropriate that these officials would not have any ability to speak about such policies before an Oireachtas committee.

Finally, the provision helps ensure that appearances before the Committee of Public Accounts or any other committee of Government are focused upon the subject matter in hand, with those present providing the most professional and helpful response possible to the committee in each case, which I know all of us try to do.

It is for this reason that I cannot support these amendments. The standards set out already in the Statute Book make sure that those coming before the committee, in particular the Commissioner and ombudsman, cannot get into levels of detail around policy and individuals. That in itself means that they cannot comment on specific cases, interfere in cases or seek to direct any particular case that might be ongoing about any individual or any specific case relating to policy. It is for that reason I will not be accepting these amendments.