I move:
That, with effect from Tuesday, 19th June, 2012—
(1) notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, and until further notice in the 31st Dáil, the Standing Orders relative to Public Business are hereby amended as follows—
1. by the deletion of Standing Order 102, and
2. in Standing Order 99, by the insertion of the following paragraph:
‘(4A) (a) There shall stand established, following the reassembly of the Dáil subsequent to a General Election, a Standing sub-Committee which shall be joined with a similar sub-Committee of the Committee on Procedure and Privileges of Seanad Éireann, to constitute the Joint sub-Committee on Administration.
(b) The Standing sub-Committee shall consist of 8 members, at least one of whom shall be a member of the Committee.
(c) The quorum of the Joint sub-Committee shall be 5, of whom at least one shall be a member of Dáil Éireann and one a member of Seanad Éireann. The Joint sub-Committee shall include at least one member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (“the Commission”), whether Deputy or Senator. The Chairman of the Joint sub-Committee shall be a member of Dáil Éireann and of the Committee.
(d) The Joint sub-Committee shall represent the views of members on the provision of services for and by the Houses generally, and may make recommendations thereon to the Commission.
(e) Recommendations of the Joint sub-Committee shall be subject to—
(i) the sanction of the Commission in relation to the financial implications of such recommendations;
(ii) the regulatory authority of the Commission or the Minister for Finance, as provided by law; and
(iii) the requirement for efficiency and economy in the use of Commission resources and value for money considerations generally.
(f) Without prejudice to the generality of sub-paragraph (d), the Joint sub-Committee may advise, and make recommendations by way of report to, the Commission, on—
(i) Members' Services, including:
(I) secretarial and other facilities;
(II) library and research services; and
(III) legal advice services (within the meaning of section 4(2)(e) of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Acts, 2003 to 2009).
(ii) Accommodation and facilities, including:
(I) the bars, shop and restaurants;
(II) the conditions or premises in which members carry out their duties; and
(III) security and access.
(iii) Communications Services, including:
(I) education, media relations and public information services; and
(II) broadcasting (in all its forms) of the proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees, including rules of coverage and archive access.
Provided, that in relation to broadcasting, the Joint sub-Committee shall:
(A) discharge the necessary monitoring arrangements for in-House televising and for sound and televised broadcasting of Dáil Éireann and its Committees;
(B) review and modify the rules of coverage for the televising of proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees;
(C) determine rules of access in respect of the archive of proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees; and
(D) determine, subject to the consent of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission, from time to time, the fees to be payable in respect of broadcasting of proceedings of Dáil Éireann and its Committees.
(iv) Such other matters as may be referred to the Joint sub-Committee by the Commission from time to time.
(g) Every report which the Joint sub-Committee may make shall be referred to the Commission and the Management Advisory Committee, which may prepare a formal response to the recommendations therein.
(h) The Joint sub-Committee shall have the following powers:
(i) power to engage consultants as defined in Standing Order 83(8); and
(ii) power to travel as defined in Standing Order 83(9);
(iii) power to nominate persons to assist it in its deliberations; and such persons shall attend such meetings as the Joint sub-Committee may determine.
(i) The Joint sub-Committee shall report directly to the Houses on its activities on an annual basis.’,
and
(2) in connection with the role and functions of the Joint sub-Committee on Administration established by this Order, the papers of the Joint Administration Committee of the 31st Dáil be referred to that Joint sub-Committee."