I move amendment No. 12:
In page 8, subsection (1), line 28, after "necessary", to insert", and shall lay each such directive before the Houses of the Oireachtas".
This refers to the power of the Minister to issue directives to the board by order as he or she considers necessary on matters of policy on legal aid and advice from time to time as the occasion requires. My amendment provides that such directives would be laid before each House of the Oireachtas. To coin an overused phrase, this is to ensure openness, transparency and the other magnificent words used to describe how our processes should operate.
I will not be as ambitious as Deputy Woods and oppose this section because in the rest of the Bill the Minister has retained a large degree of control over the board. However, it might allay the fears expressed to me by a number of bodies if these policy directives could be discussed. Committees such as this provide fora for such discussion and since we now have 17 committees there is far better opportunity for that. A debate on these matters might be much more meaningful than some of those which took place in committees. It would be appropriate if this committee had the opportunity to discuss policy affecting the Civil Legal Aid Board; it would make public the directives of the Minister and discussion might lead to agreement on where the policy was leading us. It would then be seen to be open and transparent in all senses.
It is often felt that a Minister may take to himself or herself more powers and direct a board such as this into areas which might not necessarily be appropriate — those remarks are not directed towards the present Minister, they refer to any Minister. In policy directives, Ministers should be put in a position where there can be a challenge or a discussion as to how policy is directed. From that point of view this is a reasonable amendment as it will ensure a thorough discussion.
In refusing my last amendment the Minister said there was interaction between himself and those involved in civil legal aid in the formulation of policy, etc. This amendment gives us an ideal opportunity to see how the Minister's thought processes were developing and to decide whether the policy reflected the feedback we are receiving. It would allay the concerns about the powers vested in the Minister by the Bill and the control he can thereby exercise. That control stems from many of the aspects of the Bill with which we have difficulty.