Ivana Bacik (Independent)

In response to Senator Sean Barrett, it was not the Department of Finance alone which was responsible for bringing in the IMF. A lack of regulation of the banking sector and poor political decisions, for example, on planning and tax reliefs for property development played larger roles. However, the Senator is right on the need for a restructuring of the Department. We all accept there is such a need, which is the reason the Bill has received broad support.

Senator Thomas Byrne's amendment allows for a useful debate. The Minister acknowledged the need for accountability and transparency in the workings of his Department, but I am unsure whether the amendment presents us with the best way of achieving this. However, we are all in agreement on the end to be achieved. The Minister referred to the website being established by the Department that will make all economic data dating back to 1994 available for scrutiny on a monthly basis. This sounds like a better way of keeping the public informed. To keep the Oireachtas informed, the Bill contains other measures, for example, the requirement under section 16 that information be supplied to Dáil Éireann on decisions made under the section.

Senator David Cullinane referred to the Minister's relationship with the Minister for Finance. The Bill envisages a close working relationship, which is clear not only in section 15, whereby the consent of the Minister for Finance is required in respect of large amounts of money, but also in section 16, which contains a reference to consultation.

What the Bill is seeking to do and what we all want to see occur is provide for a delegation of some functions from the Minister for Finance and a change in the way the Department of Finance works under its old guise. The Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin's comments on recruiting for his Department a new Secretary General who has experience from outside the public service and his plan to appoint a director of reform are important in terms of changing the way the new Department will work and mark a radical departure from the workings of the Department of Finance.

It is clear that the banks are not covered under section 3. Subsection (2) refers to the definition of "relevant body" in subsection (1). Like the Minister, I do not know how this could apply to banks.