Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)

I move amendment No. 26:

In page 12, subsection (4), lines 34 and 35, to delete paragraph (a) and substitute the following:

"(a) for the purposes of—

(i) the Presidential Establishment Acts 1938 to 1991, or

(ii) an enactment specified in Part 2 of Schedule 3,

and".

The other amendments being taken with amendment No. 26 are a list of other enactments that are all encompassed. Although it looks like a complicated job lot, it is a simple matter. These all relate to transactions from the Central Fund. Payment of moneys in and out of the Central Fund remain with the Minister for Finance. For the purposes of clarity and consistency of accounting, that was what we determined and for good financial practices. The Accounting Officer for the Central Fund will remain the Secretary General of the Department of Finance.

A large number of related policy functions are transferring to me, as Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. In order to link the policy functions of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform with the payment role, which will remain with the Minister for Finance, this Bill provides a role for me as public expenditure Minister in requesting that certain payments be made or in consenting to or approving of certain payments from the Central Fund.

The way it will work is that having agreed the expenditure level with a line Minister within the envelope, I will ask that an agreed volume of money be paid out for an agreed function. The actual cheques will be signed. The authority to release the money from the Central Fund will be made by the Minister for Finance and his Secretary General will remain the Accounting Officer.

The purpose of the list of amendments being taken with this amendment is to list the areas covered under this. They include the Shannon Election Act, the Electricity Supply Act, the State Land (Workhouses) Act 1930 which date back a while, the ESB Shannon Fisheries Act and there are two more pages of enactments which I need not take up the time of the House reading. This is simply to provide for the procedure we have agreed between the two Departments on the handling of the Central Fund.

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