Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) (No. 5) Regulations 2004
Statutory Instruments
Source: Statutory Instruments

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paragraphs: (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) (No. 5) Regulations 2004.
(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 1 January 2005.
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paragraphs: In these Regulations:
“Commission” means the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission established under the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003 ;
“Ministerial or Parliamentary Office” means the Taoiseach, TÃ¡naiste, Minister of the Government, Minister of State, Chairman of DÃ¡il Ãireann, Chairman of Seanad Ãireann, Deputy Chairman of DÃ¡il Ãireann, Deputy Chairman of Seanad Ãireann or Leader of Seanad Ãireann;
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paragraphs: Subject to any other Regulations, each member of DÃ¡il Ãireann who is not the holder of Ministerial or Parliamentary Office shall be entitled to standard secretarial facilities consisting of three suites of equipment as defined in Schedule 1 Part I and either one secretarial assistant working full-time or such number of secretarial assistants working part time as are equivalent to one secretarial assistant working full-time, together with additional secretarial facilities consisting of the following:
(a) one higher parliamentary assistant working half-time, or
(b) one parliamentary assistant working full-time or such number of parliamentary assistants working part-time as are equivalent to one parliamentary assistant working full-time, or
(c) in exceptional cases, and subject to the prior consent of the Commission, one additional secretarial assistant working full-time;
provided that any member employing a higher parliamentary assistant working half-time pursuant to this Regulation must pool that resource with another member of DÃ¡il Ãireann such that each higher parliamentary assistant works half-time for each of two members;
and provided also that a member is entitled to such additional secretarial facilities only where he or she opts in writing, in such a manner and subject to such conditions as the Commission shall direct from time to time, to exercise this entitlement.
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paragraphs: Each member of Seanad Ãireann who is not the holder of Ministerial or Parliamentary Office shall be entitled to standard secretarial facilities consisting of two suites of equipment as defined in Schedule 1 Part I and either one secretarial assistant working half-time or such number of secretarial assistants working less than half-time as are equivalent to one secretarial assistant working half-time, together with additional secretarial facilities consisting of the following:
(a) one secretarial assistant working half-time or such number of secretarial assistants working less than half-time as are equivalent to one secretarial assistant working half-time, or
(b) one secretarial assistant working quarter-time;
provided that any person providing such additional secretarial facilities may be one and the same as the secretarial assistant providing standard secretarial facilities pursuant to this Regulation;
and provided also that a member is entitled to such additional secretarial facilities only where he or she opts in writing, in such a manner and subject to such conditions as the Commission shall direct from time to time, to exercise this entitlement.
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paragraphs: Each qualifying party shall be entitled to secretarial facilities consisting of employees to the extent determined by the Commission from time to time in accordance with Schedule 2, together with one or more suites of equipment specified in Schedule 1 Part I to the extent specified in Schedule 1 Part II in respect of each party and printing facilities to the extent specified in Schedule 1 Part II in respect of each party. Persons on unpaid leave, career breaks or secondment to other employment or employed as substitutes for persons providing secretarial facilities shall not be reckoned in the number of persons mentioned in column 1 of Schedule 2.
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paragraphs: A person providing secretarial facilities shall provide those facilities for—
(a) a member of DÃ¡il Ãireann, in Leinster House, or in or nearby the member's constituency, or at or nearby the member's residence;
(b) a member of Seanad Ãireann, in Leinster House, or at or nearby the member's residence;
(c) a qualifying party, in Leinster House;
in accordance with the wishes of the member or the party as the case may be;
and secretarial facilities consisting of equipment may be provided by the Commission for location outside Leinster House to the extent necessary to give effect to this Regulation.
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paragraphs: The respective duties of persons employed pursuant to these Regulations shall be specified in their individual contracts in accordance with any guidelines which the Commission may lay down from time to time.
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paragraphs: The following are revoked:
the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) Regulations 2003 ( S.I. No. 736 of 2003 ),
the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 96 of 2004 ),
the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) (No. 2) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 396 of 2004 ),
the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) (No. 3) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 430 of 2004 ), and
the Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Secretarial Facilities) (No. 4) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 688 of 2004 ).