Results 9,121-9,140 of 9,832 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I move amendment No. 9: In page 15, before section 11, to insert the following new section: "10.—The Minister shall where the Minister for Finance proposes a measure to grant tax relief in order to achieve a specific policy objective in relation to the provision of a service or activity which is also funded through public expenditure prepare a statement of how this relief relates to public...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Will the Government adhere to the commitment contained in the programme for Government on the publication of such expenditure data? This has not happened and will entail considerable work. While one can have transparency in respect of spending figures, Estimates and so on, I understand it took the Tories in England one year to get down to providing the details in this regard. Obviously, it...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I am merely highlighting some measures. I must admit I have never been a fan of the Tories, but I hope to highlight helpfully-----

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: ----- the inspiration the Minister has received from Mr. David Cameron and his colleagues.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: There is a list of worthwhile measures which have been copied directly, the most surprising of which is privatisation, the headline Tory policy from the era of Maggie Thatcher. Will the Government follow through on the commitments made in the programme for Government?

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It would not be acceptable to simply provide an explanatory memorandum because it would only relate to the Bill. The report we propose in the amendment should be provided. The Bill must include a reference to the delegation orders which are separate and any other statutes not mentioned in it but which relate to functions of the Minister for Finance. We are talking about billions of euro of...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Listening to Senator Paul Bradford, it was not------

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It is incorrect of the Minister of State to say she will not accept the amendment on the basis of the debate here going beyond the terms of the amendment. Perhaps the debate has gone beyond the confines of the amendment but I have not gone beyond the confines of my simple amendment. It seeks within 40 days a report listing consolidated details of the powers conferred directly by this Act in...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It is not. For example, section 10 transfers any powers under statute relating to the functions of the Minister in broad terms in so far as they relate to the administration of the business of the Department.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Section 10(1) refers to that but section 10(2) states: "References to the Department of Finance contained in any statute or instrument under a statute in so far as they relate to the administration and business transferred by subsection (1) shall, from the appointed day, be construed as references to the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform." We do not have a list of specific statutes.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: We will speak about this further. There is even a provision for the Taoiseach to intervene if the Ministers cannot decide who has a particular function. If there could be a list of powers under the Act and any delegation orders, we would not need the Taoiseach to intervene on whether a job can be done by the Minister. I reject the criticism of the Minister of State, who indicated the...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: On consideration of substantial amendments, I reject the Minister of State's criticism. We are seeking a list to set out the functions of the new Department. The Government has argued it will work differently but is that the reality? The amendment does not go further and I did not claim that it did. If people want to target the Department on the basis of the information they get in order...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I would prefer to bring it back on Report Stage if there could be a guarantee that the Minister would be here to discuss it.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I move amendment No. 7a: In page 12, between lines 42 and 43 , to insert the following new subsection: "(5) The Minister shall be a member of Dáil Éireann.". The amendment requires that the Minister be a Member of Dáil Éireann. While that might seem to be an unusual amendment coming from a Member of Seanad Éireann - as far as I am aware, this was not pushed by my party in the Dáil -...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It would be important that I raised the issue were it to arise again. I cannot see how it might arise in practice. It would seem to me that the Minister for public expenditure and reform is in effect a Minister for Finance or has charge of the Department of Finance under the Constitution, but I accept what the Minister of State says.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I move amendment No. 7b: In page 12, between lines 42 and 43 , to insert the following new subsection: "(5) The Minister shall within 20 days of the appointed day lay before the Oireachtas an account of all actions taken by him in relation to the functions of the Department previous to the appointed day.". This important amendment was lodged at a very late stage, not to inconvenience staff in...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: That is not what the amendment seeks. The amendment seeks an account of the actions taken by the Minister. It matters not which Department, whether it is the Department of Finance or not. Section 9 states the functions of the Minister are to formulate and develop proposals to modernise and develop the public service, to make proposals to Government for the implementation of these policies,...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I will raise this with the Minister, Deputy Howlin. No one is questioning that he is doing a good job. No one is questioning that he is doing it in the Department of Finance. That point is not relevant. Perhaps the officials did not read the amendment correctly when they were preparing the Minister of State's brief. They had only a short period to do that. It is not relevant. We are...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: No. I will withdraw it on the basis that I can re-enter it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Is that re-entered now or is there a paper procedure?