Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I am sorry, I did not realise the Deputy was so touchy. The Deputies opposite have a range of views. Without a party Whip system, how would we determine anything? They cannot all be right in their views. Any political group must have a negotiated common platform. That is how it works.

Ireland is in great difficulty and we must make our system of government work. Politics is not simply about decisions that accord with our personal consciences, important as that is. We must make decisions based on priorities, the availability of resources and the views of others. It would be a great luxury if we could always be on the side of what was popular. That would be a lovely position to be in. In reality we must accept some decisions because they help to progress other issues. In other words, politics and governance are about give and take, the creation of majorities and the building, as far as possible, of consensus. Political parties do not just reflect that process; they arose historically from that process of political evolution and debate.

The programme for Government contains the most ambitious and far-reaching agenda for political reform ever put before this House. It must be ambitious if we are to restore the people's trust and confidence in the institutions which serve them. The Government's commitment to reform was made clear by the decision to establish a Department of public expenditure and reform with a Minister dedicated to driving the reform agenda. On 20 May I published the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011 which will provide the legislative framework for the formal establishment of the Department. That Bill will come before the House later this week. For the first time, functions and responsibility in regard to the reform and modernisation of the public service will be reflected on a statutory basis. On enactment of the legislation, in my role as Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform, I will have responsibility for all functions currently vested in the Minister for Finance in respect of the public service, including superannuation, remuneration, the appointment of staff and terms and conditions of employment for all staff of public service bodies. At the same time, responsibility for the management of overall departmental expenditure, including the management of the annual Estimates process and general sanctioning powers in regard to expenditure, will transfer to me from the Minister for Finance.

Our agenda for reform is twofold: first, to change the overall context in which the Government operates in order that public business is done in public; and, second, to change the way the Government operates to make it effective, democratic and accountable. The Government, as part of its commitment to the electorate, undertook to provide leadership and decisiveness. Where action is required, decisions will be taken and implemented.

As noted in the Government amendment, progress has been made in a number of areas in the few short weeks we have been in office. At its very first meeting the Government decided voluntarily to reduce ministerial salaries. The salary of the Taoiseach was reduced to €200,000, a reduction of 6%. Reductions were also applied to the salaries of other members of the Government and parliamentary officeholders whose salaries have been tracked to those of Ministers in the past. On the more general issue of the appropriate level of senior pay in the public service, I am reviewing the current provisions, including those for current incumbents, and will be bringing proposals to the Government shortly and subsequently to the House.

The Government has also agreed new arrangements for transport and staff support for Ministers in line with the commitments we gave to the people in our election manifestos and the programme for Government. The Government recognises that in reforming the public service reform must happen from the top. It is essential that the right people are in place to take on the complex challenges the country faces now and in the future. In line with the commitment given in the programme for Government, the structure of the top level appointments committee, TLAC, has been radically overhauled. The Government has decided that the membership of the TLAC will be increased to nine by the appointment of five external members from outside the Civil Service. All final interviews will be conducted by sub-panels of the committee, each comprising two Civil Service and three external members and chaired by one of these external members. New approaches to attract stronger external candidates are being considered, while recognising that suitable candidates will have to undergo a competitive process.

Considerable work is ongoing within my Department to advance the commitments given in the programme for Government in regard to the freedom of information legislation first introduced by the Labour Party and Fine Gael in government and substantially weakened in the years we were out of government. I expect to submit initial proposals to the Government shortly in regard to how these matters will be substantially progressed. It is important that the Government gives these complex issues the consideration they merit and that all Ministers are consulted on the range of issues which will amount to the effective repeal of the 2003 amending legislation brought forward by the Fianna Fáil-led Government and which largely emasculated the original Act.

In regard to protections for whistleblowers, the Government has laid out its commitments in the programme for Government and they are ambitious. The programme states the Government will introduce whistleblowers legislation, simpliciter. I confirm that this commitment will be enacted as quickly as we can and that those who speak out against wrongdoing or cover-ups, whether in the public or the private sector, will enjoy protection. I know how important this is as I appeared before the High Court and the Supreme Court in an effort to dislodge the source of information given to me as a Member of this House in respect of allegations of wrongdoing. Also in the spirit of transparency, we will introduce a statutory register of lobbyists and rules concerning the business of lobbying. It is important that those engaged in lobbying be known, along with the people and causes they represent.

Another priority for urgent action is the establishment of an independent fiscal advisory council. This is a key aspect of budgetary reform that the Government is committed to implementing under the terms of the programme for Government. This is included under the EU-IMF programme of financial support. The Minister for Finance will bring forward proposals very shortly in this regard, including those relating to membership of the council, its role and its work arrangements. It is very important for the effectiveness of the council that it is seen to be independent and the establishment of its independence will inform the arrangements we will put in place. The intention is that later this year, the Government will bring forward a fiscal responsibility Bill, which will give legislative support to the council and its work. The Bill is likely to include other aspects of the fiscal reform agenda including rules on expenditure.

This Government has indicated the priority it attaches to political reform. The programme for Government has already set out some of the priority areas touched on by the Opposition motion. I welcome this opportunity to bring these priorities to the attention of the House. It is important that an effective Parliament has an effective committee system. To this end, the Government is proposing reforms to the committee system. These reforms are centred on making committees more relevant. We will strengthen Dáil engagement with the European Union by ensuring that all Oireachtas committees share the burden of dealing with EU policies and legislative proposals. We will do this by deepening the involvement in EU matters of the committees that shadow the work of Government and we will strengthen the Dáil's capacity to investigate matters of public interest. The Abbeylara judgment of the Supreme Court limited the powers of Oireachtas committees to conduct investigations that might attribute blame to identifiable individuals. It is the strong view of this Government that Parliament should have the power to conduct such investigations. Therefore, it is a matter of urgent priority that we hold a constitutional referendum to seek the people's support to reverse the Abbeylara judgment and enable committees to carry out investigations.

We propose the establishment of an investigations, oversight and petitions committee, structured along the lines of the Committee of Public Accounts, which works so well. This committee will have the specific function of addressing citizens' concerns as they relate to public services or public administration generally. The committee should be the formal channel of consultation between the Oireachtas and the Ombudsman and responsible for ensuring her recommendations are acted upon. We will give committees the power to introduce legislation so that introducing legislation is not the exclusive prerogative of this side of the House. We will give it more power to scrutinise legislation. We will further enhance the role of legislative committees by providing that every fourth sitting week will be a committee week. Committees will not be buried in this House but will be seen to act as full scrutiny committees in the full glare of publicity in this Chamber.

In the time available I have only been able to touch on some of the major reform agenda. Local government reform, which informed many of the contributions in the Chamber, will be dealt with by my colleague, the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government tomorrow. He will set out the reform agenda on local government. I conclude by sincerely acknowledging the contributions of Members opposite. Deputy O'Sullivan was a rock of sense once again. We should act on much of what is said on the Opposition benches. The Government has no monopoly on wisdom and it is my intention to be open to constructive proposals for reform from the Opposition if they add value and are in keeping with the agenda we have, in common, to make this House and our institutions more effective.

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