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Accountability of chief executive officer to other Oireachtas committees
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520. (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 the Committee of Public Accounts or a Committee on Members’ Interests of Dáil Éireann or the Committee on Members’ Interests of Seanad Éireann) or a subcommittee of such a Committee.
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(2) Subject to subsection (3), the chief executive officer 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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(3) The chief executive officer shall not be required to give account before a Committee for any matter which is or has been or may be at a future date, the subject of proceedings before a court or tribunal in the State.
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(4) Where the chief executive officer 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 the opinion and the reasons for the opinion and, unless the information is conveyed to the Committee at the time when the chief executive officer is before it, the information shall be so conveyed in writing.
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(5) Where the chief executive officer 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 the subject matter of that opinion—
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(a) the chief executive officer 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 of 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,
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and the High Court shall determine the matter.
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(6) Pending the determination of an application under subsection (5), the chief executive officer shall not attend before the Committee to give account for the matter that is 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 chief executive officer shall attend before the Committee to give account for the matter.
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(8) The chief executive officer, in giving evidence under subsection (2), 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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(9) Any evidence given under subsection (2) shall, subject to preserving confidentiality in relation to such information as is determined by the Governing Board to be commercially sensitive, relate to the policies of the Commission.
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(10) If the chief executive officer is unable to attend before a Committee he or she or, in the chief executive officer’s absence, the Governing Board, may nominate a senior officer of the Commission to attend on behalf of the chief executive officer and this section shall apply to a person so nominated.
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