Willie O'Dea
Question:3 Mr. O'Dea asked the Taoiseach when the report on the future of the Attorney General's Office will be published. [4293/95]
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Attorney General's Office.
Mary Harney
Question:4 Miss Harney asked the Taoiseach the Government's response to the report on the operations of the Attorney General's Office; the recommendations which will be adopted; and the timeframe for such changes. [4364/95]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together.
The report of the Review Group on the Office of the Attorney General was published on 21 February, following approval in principle by the Government to implement its recommendations and to make the necessary additional resources available to the office. Copies of the report and Government press release thereon were placed in the Oireachtas Library and made available to Members of both Houses.
Provision has been made in this year's Estimate for the Attorney General's Office for additional expenditure in the region of £800,000 in connection with the reorganisation of that office. The bulk of this expenditure will be used towards the information technology programme mentioned in the report and extra staffing for the office on both the professional and technical-administrative side.
The Department of Finance has already provided expert assistance in preparing an information technology plan for the office. Sanction has also been given to fill the posts of legal librarian, systems manager, systems analyst and the appointment of an additional senior draftsman in the parliamentary draftsman's office. A competition for the post of legal librarian is already underway.
As regards the time frame for change, it is not at this stage feasible to give an accurate indication. The Attorney General will, however, give progress reports to the Government after six months and again after 12 months.
Will the Taoiseach accept the report makes clear that extra staff are needed in the parliamentary draftsman's office? Is it intended by the Government to recruit those extra staff and, if so, how many and over approximately what time period? Will the Taoiseach agree it would be a good idea to contract out some of the parliamentary draftsman's work to the private sector in view of the fact that the report implicitly recognises that this would be cost effective and efficient?
I indicated in reply to the original question that additional staff are being recruited in the parliamentary draftsman's office.
How many will be recruited and when?
One senior draftsman is being appointed and a number of other posts will be filled in the office generally. It is a matter for the Attorney General on a pragmatic basis to examine the contracting out of work to the private sector. We are also examining the possibility of the development of specialised drafting capacity within individual Departments which have a heavy legislative workload. It is the intention of the Attorney General to consider the best practice in regard to private sector law office management techniques and the operation of equivalent public offices overseas, and to conduct a strategic management initiative study within the office of the Attorney General in order that the resources available can be deployed to maximum effect.
Given that the Attorney General's report has been made available, as has the report of the all-party committee that inquired into the events of November, will the Taoiseach accept we will never know why the warrants relating to Fr. Smyth were not acted upon?
That is a separate matter which will be dealt with when the report of the committee comes before the House for discussion.
Does the Taoiseach remember that he scoffed at the former Taoiseach for proposing exactly what he is now proposing? Will he accept that the report on the operations of the Attorney General's office vindicates the integrity of the then Fianna Fáil Government?
I do not wish to enter into questions about the integrity of the Fail Fáil-Labour Coalition Government. I will not be drawn into that now; it is a matter for the Deputy to sort out.
Is there any integrity in Fianna Fáil?
On the other part of the question, I have not scoffed at anybody.
The Taoiseach scoffed mightily in this House.
I hoped I would have the co-operation of Members in dealing with questions to the Taoiseach, but I think the House will agree progress has been dismal.
At the sub-committee's deliberations it was stated that in the region of 3,000 cases currently before the courts were being dealt with by the Attorney General's office, not to mention all the other responsibilities, including draftsmanship. Will the Taoiseach accept it would be better to have an office dealing with defence of legal cases through the courts on behalf of the State and a separate office for the parliamentary draftsman? One conclusion of the committee was that the Attorney General's office is overworked and understaffed.
As the House is aware we are taking steps to improve staffing levels in the office and also to improve the systems of operation of the office so as to get better output from the staff employed there. The Attorney General, who from his previous private practice is extremely experienced in the management of a sophisticated legal office, will bring his expertise to bear on how best to organise the office. I will convey to him for assessment the suggestion made by the Deputy.
Will the Taoiseach ask the Attorney General to consider the extension of drafting facilities to the Oireachtas, as is the case in other countries?
I will, but there are risks involved in having a multiplicity of separate drafting facilities. There is a need to ensure uniformity of drafting of legislation from the point of view of practitioners and the public. There is much to be said for concentrating resources as it gives greater flexibility to move people from one area of work to another, depending on where the pressure is, a factor that needs to be taken into account by the Attorney General when he is considering Deputy Dermot Ahern's suggestion.
Following from Deputy Dermot Ahern's comment on the duality of the Attorney General's role, does the Taoiseach agree there will always be a risk of a conflict of interest between the Attorney General's role as guardian of the national interest and constitutional rights and the separate role of political adviser to the Government?
I think the essence of involvement in public life is the management of conflicts of interest. You cannot create a situation where all potential conflicts of interest or judgement are eliminated for office holders. It is inherent in holding office that there are tensions involved in one's respective responsibilities. At the end of the day one has to rely on the integrity of the people concerned. I have the utmost confidence in the Attorney General and in his ability to recognise the respective importance of the different roles he has to play at different times.
The Taoiseach referred to various studies and research into making the Attorney General's office more efficient, but while this is happening the volume of legislation is growing. Does the Taoiseach agree that the appointment of one extra person in the parliamentary draftsman's office is pitifully inadequate to deal with the continuous growth in the volume of legislation being processed? The matter could be resolved, to some extent at least, if some of the work could be farmed out. Will he give me a straight answer on whether the Government will decide to farm out some work? Will solicitors be eligible for positions in the advisory section of the office of Attorney General and the parliamentary draftsman, which at present are confined to barristers?
I have already answered the question on additional resources for the parliamentary draftsman's office. If the Attorney General needs additional draftspersons, he can so recommend. As I have said the Government has provided an additional £800,000 this year for the Attorney General's office.
For research.
Clearly there is a recognition that something needs to be done about this question. However, the main controversies that have arisen in this office have not been in the drafting section but in regard to other work.