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Amendment of section 27 of Act of 2014
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30. The Act of 2014 is amended by the substitution of the following section for section 27:
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“27. (1) Subject to subsection (2), the chairperson of the Commission or a member of the Commission shall, at the request in writing of a Committee, attend before it to give account for the general administration of the Commission.
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(2) The chairperson of the Commission or a member of the Commission shall not be required to give account before a Committee in relation to—
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(a) any matter which is or has been, or which the Commission has reason to think may in the future be, the subject of proceedings before an adjudication officer or before a court or tribunal in the State,
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(b) any matter specified in paragraphs (a) to (d) of section 10(7),
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(c) a determination in relation to a merger or acquisition under section 21(2) of the Act of 2002, or
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(d) the powers and functions of adjudication officers.
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(3) Where the chairperson or a member of the Commission is of the opinion that a matter in respect of which he or she is requested to give an account before a committee is a matter to which subsection (2) applies, he or she shall inform the Committee of that opinion and the reasons for the opinion and, unless the information is conveyed to the committee at a time when he or she is before it, the information shall be so conveyed in writing.
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(4) Where a chairperson or member of the Commission has informed a Committee of his or her opinion in accordance with subsection (3) and the Committee does not withdraw the requirement referred to in subsection (2) in so far as it relates to a matter the subject of that opinion—
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(a) the chairperson or member may, not later than 21 days after being informed by the Committee of its decision not to do so, 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
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(b) the Chairperson of the Committee may, on behalf of the Committee, make such an application,
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and the High Court shall determine the matter.
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(5) Pending the determination of an application under subsection (4), the chairperson or member of the Commission shall not attend before the Committee to give account for the matter the subject of the application.
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(6) If the High Court determines that subsection (2) applies to the matter concerned, the Committee shall withdraw the requirement referred to in subsection (2), but if the High Court determines that subsection (2) does not apply, the chairperson or member of the Commission shall attend before the Committee and give account for the matter.
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(7) In the performance of his or her duties under this section, the chairperson of the Commission or a member of the Commission shall not question or express an opinion on—
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(a) the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or on the merits of the objectives of such a policy, or
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(b) the carrying out of the functions of an adjudication officer.
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(8) In this section—
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‘adjudication officer’ means an adjudication officer appointed in respect of the Commission in accordance with the Act of 2002;
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‘Committee’ means a Committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas (other than the Committee referred to in section 26 or the Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann) or a sub-Committee of such a Committee.”.
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