Results 30,281-30,300 of 34,885 for speaker:Seán Fleming
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: I am just saying we do not get to discuss as part of the Estimates process the €8 billion which goes to service the national debt. We also do not get to discuss the contribution to the EU budget of €1.444 billion, and if we did there might be greater understanding about it. I believe we receive approximately €2 billion per annum from the EU through the Department of...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: I am still not sure what the Minister of State is saying.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: Can the Minister of State go through the note again, slowly?
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: Who pays the certifier?
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: That is what I am coming at. Does anyone certify the payment for the subcontractor? This seems to be between the awarding authority and the main contractor.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: There is no cover here as between the subcontractor and the main contractor. The main contractor has cover. He gets paid when his payment is certified. The essence of the whole Bill is to help subcontractors rather than main contractors to get paid. We are assuming most main contractors get paid. The issue and the genesis of the legislation is not to guarantee the protection of the...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: Where does the subcontractor come into this? Is the certificate of use to the subcontractor? It is not. It is useful only to assist the main contractor to get his cheque drawn down. I am trying to get a mechanism. The work is ongoing for-----
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: The subcontractor is on the site for six months for a big job. The main contractor will get paid as the certificates are produced to show that the work is at a certain point. He will get staged payments. The purpose of the Bill is to ensure the staged payments get passed on to subcontractors. Is there a mechanism in the Bill for a certification on behalf of the subcontractor doing block...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: I thought that was the sole purpose of the Bill. The Bill is not about helping the main contractor. It is about helping the guy at the bottom of the food chain to get paid. It is not about the main guy.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: We are here because that system is failing. People would not be looking for money if that system worked. That is the genesis of the concept behind the Bill.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: We will come to that later on.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: We will not go that far. We will move on.
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: How much time do I have?
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012. As the Minister has said the Bill is quite short and deals with some specific matters. While it is useful in that regard, it is only useful in so far as it goes. The legislation leaves much to be desired and should have included other matters. I will deal with one or two of those points...
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: Please God - and rightly so. It is important to have these arrangements in place because the troika would not have confidence leaving us without some of these additional measures being in place. It should have been in place but be that as it may, it is coming through now. The main change the Bill will effect is to provide for medium-term expenditure management in Ireland and it makes...
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: I know that, but I am talking about the actual payment. Also included are the salaries and pensions of Uachtarán na hÉireann, the Comptroller and Auditor General, and Deputies. I will come back to those points. The Central Fund, unless otherwise stipulated by law, is where all State revenues are deposited. I now want to deal with a specific issue. I refer to the document, the...
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: I am referring to the Medium-Term Fiscal Statement, published in November 2012. I believe it came after the comprehensive review of public expenditure. This was the one published in November 2012, incorporating the Department of Finance autumn forecasts.
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: Fine. I do have it, but the figures I am taking-----
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: It is interesting that the figures published last year have changed already. Is that the point the Minister is making?
- Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (15 May 2013)
Seán Fleming: I would have hoped the forecast would have lasted longer than six months. Anyhow it is an update. I have checked some recent figures also based on the 2013 Estimates. I refer to the document, Estimates of Receipt and Expenditure for the year ending 31 December 2013, which costs €1 for those who want to pay for it. I also referenced my figures to this document and there is a slight...