Pat Gallagher (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The purpose of section 27 is to provide for the transfer of functions from a water services authority to the Minister or other prescribed body, or from the Minister to a water services authority or prescribed body as required. It is not intended that the level of democratic accountability for any transferred function should be diminished. Subsection (1) provides for the authorisation of such a transfer of functions by regulations rather than, for example, by administrative order. The powers of the Minister to authorise a transfer of function are governed by section 18(5), which provides that any regulation made by the Minister must be laid before each House of the Oireachtas and either House may pass a resolution to annul it within 21 days. The Minister is accountable to the Oireachtas therefore in terms of any proposal to transfer functions and it is a matter ultimately for the Oireachtas to decide whether democratic accountability for any function is lessened by a regulation under section 18(1). I gave some consideration to the case made by Senator McCarthy on Committee Stage but for the reasons I have outlined I cannot accept this amendment.