That is why people should be allowed to make an anonymous disclosure and focus on where it should be, which is on the subject matter that is being raised. I look forward to engaging with the Minister of State, even if he cannot support my amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I move amendment No. 5: In page 22, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “(3) Where the Commission enters into contracts or appoints persons as consultants or advisers, a record of such contracts and consultations shall be kept and laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas on a bi-annual basis.”.

The amendment inserts a new subsection in section 15 which requires that where the commission would enter into contracts or appoint persons as consultants or advisers, a record of such contracts and consultations would be kept and laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas on a biannual basis. The amendment is about transparency. When the body responsible for elections and referendums in a country enters into contracts or appoints advisers, it is important that a proper record of this is kept and deposited with the …

While there are measures relating to spending on consultants and advisers, the concerns do not solely relate to financial transparency; the concerns relate to who the consultants and advisers are, who is giving advice and what factors are in play. It should be borne in mind that such consultants and advisers, while not being public employees in the full sense, may well be providing consultancy and advice to other actors. That is again why the transparency is around who the consultants and advisers are, not the fact…

I believe we are authorised to move Senator Moynihan's amendment.

Okay, that was obviously yesterday and not today.

I move amendment No. 7: In page 24, line 39, after “time” to insert “, but only once”.

The amendment seeks to limit the term of a chief executive to be renewable only once. Currently, the Bill provides that the chief executive can have a five-year term and may be reappointed, but not for more than ten years sequentially at a time. This amendment would seek to only allow two terms to the chief executive and no more than that. I spoke earlier about accountability and transparency. In other positions of great public importance, such as Chief Justice, there is a fixed term and a recognition that an indiv…

I appreciate that the consideration was given. I will not press amendment No. 7. I will withdraw it.

I move amendment No. 9: "In page 25, line 10, after “section” to insert the following: “, having due regard both to the desirability of the appointee possessing knowledge of, and experience in, electoral matters, and obligations as set out under section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities”."

I move amendment No. 10: "In page 27, line 19, after “office” to insert “with a record of such representations to be kept”."

I second the amendment.

I move amendment No. 12: In page 29, lines 23 and 24, to delete “in such manner as the Commission considers appropriate” and substitute “in an accessible manner on a website maintained by the Commission”.

I am sure the Senator was not reluctant.

This amendment, the principle of which I am sure Senator Gavan strongly supports, requires for copies of the annual reports of the commission to be laid in an accessible manner on a website maintained by the commission. A number of these amendments return to the same measures. As the Minister is aware, these are measures echoed across lots of legislation. The reason they need to be echoed across lots of legislation is that Ireland has in recent years ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabili…

The question is not just best practice and whether the commission will engage in best practice, as it may choose to draw on the precedent of the Referendum Commission of Ireland, or not. The question is best practice in legislation. To put a caveat and a dilution in respect of the question of accessibility is not best practice in legislation. The Minister of State referred to where there is a different organisational context, and the fact is that there is a different context. I made clear two of the contexts, one b…

I move amendment No. 13: In page 30, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “(d) to review and implement the proposals of the Seanad Reform Implementation Group and the Manning Report;”.

Amendment No. 13 mandates, as a function of the commission, that the commission would review and implement the proposals of the Seanad reform implementation group and the Manning report. Yesterday we enumerated the long process and the fact that in 1979 the public voted in favour of the expansion of the university franchise by an overwhelming majority. Again in 2015 in a campaign with the message “Open it don't close it” in relation to the Seanad, the public, including all those who do not currently have a vote in …