Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 6:

In page 26, to delete lines 21 to 26.

I will deal first with amendment No. 7 which is a compromise amendment and was tabled with gritted teeth in the realisation that the Government will not delete lines 21 to 26 on page 26 of the Bill. This amendment provides that if the Government decided it wanted to enlist the project management services of the agency in terms of the winding up, reorganisation or restructuring of a designated body, any request from a Minister under this subsection would require the prior approval of the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is another formula in regard to the directions we discussed earlier. There were suggestions that the directions would be too wide. This proposal in respect of section 19(3) is clear. If the Minister believed under these limited circumstances a proposal involved the acquisition or disposal of any of our designated bodies - the winding up, reorganisation or restructuring of a designated body - he or she should have to come to the Houses for approval in relation those matters. If they are not contentious, the Minister would get approval without delay and if they are, there rightly would be a heated debate in this and the Upper House on these matters. It is about accountability, holding the Government to account and making sure that matters have been fully teased out by Members of these Houses before a decision is taken. It does not in any way preclude the Minister from using the powers available to him or her in this section, rather it provides for debating them before the Minister gives effect to them.

Amendment No. 6, proposing the deletion of those lines, is one that I would preferably like to have accepted. I do not want the provision in those lines in the Act, which facilitates the potential sale of State assets. It is one of the major flaws in the legislation. It deals with a number of areas and the investment in terms of the Irish economy is to be welcomed. It probably makes up a third of the Bill. The others parts of it are deeply flawed. Given that the Government is refusing to accept any amendment, it is difficult to accept this Bill in the round at the end of the day. This provision is one that would need to be amended before approval could be given to the Bill in its entirety.

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