Domestic, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Agency Act 2023
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Accountability of chief executive to other Oireachtas committees | ||
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36. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the chief executive shall, at the request in writing of a committee, attend before it to give account for the general administration of the Agency. | ||
(2) The chief executive shall not be required to give account before a committee for any matter which is, or has been or may at a future time be, the subject of proceedings before a court or tribunal of inquiry in the State. | ||
(3) Where the chief executive is of the opinion that a matter in respect of which he or she is requested to give account before a committee is a matter to which subsection (2) applies— | ||
(a) he or she shall, as soon as practicable, inform the committee of the opinion and the reasons for it, and | ||
(b) unless the information is conveyed to the committee at a time when the chief executive is before it, the information shall be conveyed in writing. | ||
(4) Where the chief executive has informed a committee of his or her opinion in accordance with subsection (3) and the committee does not withdraw the request referred to in subsection (1) in so far as it relates to a matter the subject of that opinion— | ||
(a) the chief executive may, not later than 21 days after being informed by the committee of its decision not to withdraw the request, apply to the High Court in a summary manner for determination of the question whether the matter is one to which subsection (2) applies, or | ||
(b) the chairperson of the committee, on behalf of the committee, may make such an application, | ||
and the High Court shall determine the matter. | ||
(5) Pending the determination of an application under subsection (4), the chief executive shall not attend before the committee to give account for the matter that is the subject of the application. | ||
(6) If the High Court determines that the matter concerned is one to which subsection (2) applies, the committee shall withdraw the request referred to in subsection (1), but if the High Court determines that subsection (2) does not apply, the chief executive shall attend before the committee to give account for the matter. | ||
(7) In giving evidence under this section, the chief executive shall not question or express an opinion on the merits of— | ||
(a) any policy of the Government or of a Minister of the Government, or | ||
(b) the objectives of such a policy. | ||
(8) In this section, “committee” means a committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas, a committee appointed jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas or a subcommittee of either such committee, other than— | ||
(a) the Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann, | ||
(b) the Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann, and | ||
(c) the Committee referred to in section 35 . |