Dinny McGinley (Donegal South West, Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 8:

In page 5, to delete lines 40 to 45 and substitute the following:

"32.—(1) The Board shall consist of a chairperson and 10 ordinary members appointed by the Minister and shall include—

(a) an officer of the Minister not below the rank of principal officer,

(b) a person who, in the Minister's opinion, represents the interests of the financial services industry,

(c) 4 persons who—

(i) in the Minister's opinion, have knowledge of, or experience in relation to, the purposes for which disbursements may be made, and

(ii) are appointed by the Minister after consultation with the organisations that the Minister considers to be representative of the purposes so specified,

and

(d) 4 persons who, in the Minister's opinion, have knowledge of, or experience relating to any other matters that appear to the Minister to be relevant to the Board's functions.".

This amendment concerns the membership of the board. As a result of this Bill, we are to replace an existing and effective board which has been operating successfully and to most people's satisfaction for years with one of the Minister's choosing. In other words, it will be completely and utterly subservient to the wishes of the Minister and the Government. We are addressing the core of the Bill, since we are to remove from the current board its role in sanctioning and directing the disbursement of funds and politicise it, giving it to the Minister, his and other Departments and the Government.

I listened to the Minister's response to previous amendments. Deputy Durkan said he was surprised that the House should give powers to others outside it. Of course, that is nothing new. We have done this on numerous occasions. I remember a matter with which the Minister and every public representative will be very familiar, namely, the granting of planning permission. One would apply to the relevant county council, be it Donegal, Waterford, Limerick or Galway, for planning permission. If one did not get it, one had recourse, not to a board but to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The Minister of the day had full power to grant or refuse planning permission. Very often Ministers overruled the county councils; it was a political decision. There are monuments in every county, in respect of which people wonder how permission was granted. In every case, some Minister or other gave permission.

Several years ago some sensible Members of this House — I do not know which Government did it or what side of the House — did not think it right or proper that a Minister, a politician, should have such powers. They established An Bord Pleanála which is, as far as we know, independent. We all have recourse to it on behalf of our constituents and eventually it makes its decisions which, in most cases, are accepted. Occasionally, however, they are not, and one must go to the High Court. That was an advance and everyone agrees it was the right thing to do. I do not think the Minister or any of his colleagues would wish to take that power, emasculate An Bord Pleanála and say he should have the last word and that it should give him back the powers his predecessor granted it 20 years ago.

See this speech in context