Dáil debates
Thursday, 18 February 2010
George Mitchell Scholarship Fund (Amendment) Bill 2010: Committee Stage
3:00 pm
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
I move amendment No. 1:
In page 4, line 10, to delete "fund manager" and substitute "Minister".
This refers to some of the concerns expressed by Deputy Perry, although I did not anticipate them. This concerns transparency and accountability. The Minister of State has informed me there were protracted negotiations between the Department and the US-Ireland Alliance. The effect of my amendment would be that the auditor monitoring the accounts would be appointed or nominated by the Minister and not the fund manager. If this unravels arrangements made, my third amendment would meet the requirement as far as I am concerned. I am interested in the attitude of the Minister of State to my proposal.
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