Results 4,221-4,240 of 16,492 for speaker:Ciarán Lynch

Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: There is a need for factual information from Deputy Doherty.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: We will have a number of sessions over the course of today in our public consultation on the draft heads of the general scheme of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012. This is the first session, which is to conclude at 11.30 a.m. at the latest. I welcome from the National Union of Journalists Mr. Gerry Curran, cathaoirleach of the Irish executive council; Mr. Séamus Dooley,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I thank Mr. Curran and Mr. Dooley. I will outline the context for this meeting. Under the programme of reforming how committees operate, we engage in pre-legislative scrutiny. This meeting is an opportunity to allow groups such as the delegation to make their opinions known on how they believe legislation should progress. At the end of this process, the committee will send a report to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: With regard to Irish Water, the Oireachtas committee dealing with the environment, community and the Gaeltacht carried out a very extensive examination of water provision in Ireland for a number of years, including consideration of the establishment of Irish Water. There were 141 recommendations in the report and the committee recommended that Irish Water should come under the Freedom of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Other members may wish to comment on the issue. Irish Water is currently being established by the National Treasury Management Agency and Bord Gáis Éireann will be a single operating publicly owned company that will not have a competitor in the market. With the likes of the ESB, Bord Gáis, Bus Éireann and Irish Rail, does the witness envisage the same level of freedom of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: We have much to get through and if there is a litany of questions to be followed by a litany of answers, it will be difficult for journalists to report and the broadcasting unit to cover it. I will accommodate questions going back and forth. Speakers should look for answers to one or two questions and I will facilitate them later if they feel all the questions have not been covered.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I will tease out two of the points made by Mr. Brennan. The possibility of vexatious use of the Act is a genuine concern. Has the NUJ considered the possibility of introducing what could be described as a registered user fee, under which the NUJ, for example, would pay a fee on behalf of member journalists? The union rather than newspapers would then pay the costs of freedom of information...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Perhaps an FOI request could get that information.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Under the FOI legislation these entities would be seen to be publicly owned.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Before I bring in Deputy Timmins and revert to Deputy Fleming, I want to expand on a few points that have emerged. One of the difficulties we as parliamentarians have is that when we table parliamentary questions we get very much the same responses as the witnesses would get on foot of freedom of information requests.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: If effort is taxing I suppose we do. It is a source of shared frustration. In deliberating on what is the difference between a parliamentary question and a freedom of information request, I would say it is none other than that the former would be on the record of the House. One of the difficulties we as parliamentarians have is when one tables a question on a matter such as the National...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: The next point I want to raise is the cost involved. I do not know if Mr. Dooley read the transcript of what the Minister, Deputy Howlin, said when he was before the committee. It is quite long and I will read one paragraph out of it. The Minister was responding to a series of questions and to one specifically from Deputy Fleming. He said: My officials will take note of everything said...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: That is correct.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Do you acknowledge the commercial nature of FOI requests?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: But they are deriving an income from that request of a newspaper.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: This leads me to my final question, before bringing in Deputy Timmins. As you say, freedom of information requests - particularly in the print media - can lead to a substantive story being developed over a period of time, and then maybe a two-page spread from what has been compiled through a series of requests. Is there a difference in terms of the various media - be it television, radio or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Can we get to the questions because this particular module is concluding at 11.30 a.m.?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I can allow the Deputy to speak.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2012: Discussion (6 Feb 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I will push you towards questions.