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Accountability of chairperson of Council to Oireachtas Committees
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41. (1) In this section “Committee” means a Committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses of the Oireachtas, other than—
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(a) the Committee of Dáil Éireann established under the Standing Orders of Dáil Éireann to examine and report to Dáil Éireann on the appropriation accounts and reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General,
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(b) the Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann, or
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(c) a sub-committee of a committee referred to in paragraph (a) or (b).
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(2) Subject to subsection (3), the chairperson of the Council shall, at the request in writing of a Committee, attend before it to give account for the general administration and functions of the Council.
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(3) The chairperson of the Council shall not be required to give account before a Committee for any matter that—
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(a) is or has been or may at a future time be the subject of proceedings before a court or tribunal (including an adjudication officer and the Labour Court) in the State, or
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(b) relates to a specific complaint that was or is under investigation by, or has been submitted to, the Ombudsman.
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(4) Where the chairperson of the Council 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 (3) 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 the chairperson of the Council is before it, the information shall be so conveyed in writing.
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(5) Where the chairperson of the Council has informed a Committee of his or her opinion in accordance with subsection (4) and the Committee does not withdraw the request 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 of the Council may, not later than 42 days after being informed by the Committee of its decision not to do so, apply to the High Court in a summary manner for decision of the question whether the matter is one to which subsection (3) applies, or
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(b) the chairperson of the Committee may, on behalf of the Committee, make such an application, and the High Court shall determine the matter.
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(6) Pending the decision of an application under subsection (5), the chairperson of the Council shall not attend before the Committee to give account for the matter the subject of the application.
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(7) If the High Court determines that the matter concerned is one to which subsection (3) applies, the Committee shall withdraw the request referred to in subsection (2), but if the High Court determines that subsection (3) does not apply, the chairperson of the Council shall attend before the Committee to give account for the matter.
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(8) In the performance of his or her duties under this section, the chairperson of the Council shall not question or express an opinion on 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.
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