Pat Rabbitte (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 7, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following:

"Report by Minister

4. (1) The Minister shall, not later than one year after the commencement of this Part, lay before each House of the Oireachtas a report on the operation of this Act during that period.

2) Notwithstanding the generality of subsection (1), a report under this section shall include information on--

(a) the formation of the network company,

(b) the approval of any network transfer plan,

(c) the approval of any transfer plan to an energy company,

(d) the disposal of any energy company, and

(e) the appointment of the majority-shareholding Minister under section 7B(2)(e) of the Act of 1976.".

This amendment owes its origins to an amendment tabled by Deputy Moynihan on Committee Stage. There was considerable debate on Committee Stage about Deputy Moynihan's amendment which had a good deal of support and for that reason, I did as I was requested and drafted an amendment which is before Deputies as amendment No. 1.

On Committee Stage, Deputy Moynihan proposed that a new section 30 be inserted to provide that within 12 months of enactment of this Act, a report be brought forward by me, as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, providing a value for money assessment of the sale of the Bord Gáis Energy business. On Committee Stage, I undertook to try to accommodate the Deputy. Deputy Naughten's amendment No. 6 proposes that within two months of the disposal of the energy company, a report should be laid before each House detailing the plans for the allocation of the proceeds arising from the sale.

Having reflected on the need for accountability in this matter and in order to accommodate the Deputies, I propose amendment No. 1 which proposes that a new provision be inserted after section 2(3). The amendment has been drafted following discussions between my Department and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. I am of the view that accountability should extend beyond the sale transaction itself and that a better outcome will be achieved by acceptance of amendment No. 1.

As I mentioned on Committee Stage, the new Dáil reform package includes a post-legislative report whereby a Minister will report to the relevant Oireachtas select committee within 12 months of enactment to review the functioning of the Act. This will allow for the committee to consult with civil society groups and individuals with expertise in the relevant area. Accordingly, the amendment I propose provides that within 12 months of the commencement of Part 2 of the Act, a wide-ranging report on the operation of the Act will be prepared and laid before each House of the Oireachtas. The report will cover developments over the previous year and will include information on the formation of the network company, the approval of any network transfer plan, the approval of any transfer to an energy company, the disposal of any energy company and the appointment of the majority shareholding Minister.

Section 29 of the Bill provides that the sale of the energy business is subject to the consent of myself, as Minister, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. In consenting to any sale, I can assure the Deputies that we will be firmly focused on ensuring the State receives fair value from the transaction. This is particularly important because following much negotiation, it has been agreed with the troika that the proceeds of this asset disposal programme will be used to fund employment enhancing projects. This will include funding for the Exchequer element of the infrastructure stimulus package, which the Government announced in July 2012. Spending on infrastructure stimulus and other Exchequer capital projects is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. This is not a matter which is amenable to specific reporting under this Bill.

I found the debate on Committee Stage on this point very useful and the arguments advanced persuasive. The Deputies' input and proposed amendments contributed to my proposed amendment on this matter and have significantly enhanced the accountability framework for the operation of the legislation.

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