Results 48,641-48,660 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: No, I am not resiling from that. I am saying that the same logic applies. As I said in my opening remarks I do not really care whether it is a quarter or a third.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: It is good practice in other jurisdictions.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: As I said in my opening remarks, I am not hung up on whether it is a quarter or a third. I am hung up on the fact that a government can use a majority to block anything it wants at committee and House level. That is the basic point.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I am pressing the amendment.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I move amendment No. 14: In page 23, subsection (1)(a), to delete lines 7 to 11 and substitute the following:"(a) subject to subsection (3), the one quarter of the members of the House have, in accordance with the rules and standing orders made by the House pursuant to subsection (2), voted to pass the resolution in respect of the inquiry (in this section referred to as "the terms of...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: How does the Minister think that this is done so successfully in so many other countries?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I move amendment No. 15: In page 23, subsection (1), lines 23 to 25, to delete paragraph (b) and substitute the following:"(b) if the committee is a joint committee, one quarter of the members of each House vote to pass the resolution with identical terms passed in each House.".

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I move amendment No. 16: In page 23, after line 46, to insert the following subsection:"(4) Each House shall make rules and standing orders to provide that a vote in favour of the conducting of an inquiry shall pass if no less than two thirds of the designated opposition Deputies vote in favour of the conducting of the inquiry by a committee.". This was tabled by Deputy Thomas Pringle. It...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Essentially, they are all the same.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: For the purpose of clarification, under the legislation statements can be shown to be matters of fact even if there is disagreement. If the committee decides something is a fact, then it is a fact. Therefore, if the Taoiseach of the day decides it is a fact, then it is a fact.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: The legislation says as much.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I wish to clarify my position. I was referring to the 50:50 set-up in the committee. This amendment refers specifically to the vote in the House to set up an inquiry. I take the point on the previous amendment. This amendment specifically relates to a government being able to use its majority. I am not having a go at this Government in any way. I am referring to a government using its...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I am sorry for cutting across the Minister. He is referring to amendment No. 15. I should have said at the start that amendment No. 15 refers to a vote of 25% of the committee. That amendment is an error. I beg the pardon of the committee. I am withdrawing amendment No. 15. The substantive amendment for me relates to the vote in the House.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Bear with me for one moment. Let me explain it. Amendments Nos. 13 and 14 are essentially parallel rules. Section 11 deals with a proposal for an inquiry by a committee. That is dealt with in amendment No. 13. Section 12 deals with a proposal for an inquiry by the House. Amendments Nos. 13 and 14 provide for the application of the same rule, that a vote of one quarter of the House is...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Inquiries under section 9 are those which are most open to political abuse. They will never be used on a Government Deputy and will be used only on Opposition Deputies and Senators. Assuming that my coming amendments will be rejected, as no doubt they have been, section 9 inquiries will only be possible under a majority vote in the House. That will never be done for a Government Deputy.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Right. In my opinion, however, and from what I have seen, this is not going to happen.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Let me rephrase that. I can see this procedure being much easier to use to investigate Opposition Deputies and Senators than to investigate those in Government parties.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Sure, but it will be much easier to get a majority Government vote to inquire against an Opposition Deputy or Senator - at least, based on my observation of the House over the past two years. We can go through section 18, which the Minister states is the one that provides the safeguards.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I understand; that is my point. What is to stop somebody under investigation from going to the High Court to seek an injunction? Section 9 inquiries specifically allow for findings that impugn a good name. What is to stop somebody from saying "This is a witch hunt; this is a Star Chamber. I am going straight to the High Court and I am stopping this inquiry."?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I move amendment No. 13: In page 23, between lines 5 and 6, to insert the following subsection:“(5) Notwithstanding any rules referred to in this section, one quarter of the members of a committee shall constitute a sufficient number of committee members to deem a proposal to have been proposed by a committee.”.After this we will deal with amendment No. 16, which, although it...