Results 681-700 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is a rule where offices and boards do not make disbursements. Where they make direct disbursement, they are accountable for the money to the Committee of Public Accounts. For example, Oifig an Chomisinéara Teanga only has administrative money and does not make disbursements and, therefore, it does not have a responsibility——

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No, but he has an office. He is not an accounting officer in terms of being answerable to the Committee of Public Accounts. It is not a question of whether he has a board since the office only handles administrative money. The same applies to this board in that there is no disbursement function directly attributable to the board. The disbursements will be made by Departments. Let us suppose...

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: In that case, it is the National Treasury Management Agency which is managing the fund. It refers to what we were talking about earlier in regard to investment and so on. The NTMA does that and transfers the money to the Dormant Accounts Fund Disbursements Board which then disburses the money. This is why there is a reference to the chief executive of the agency. As the Deputy is aware, the...

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There never was one.

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There is one.

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If the Deputy checks the definitions in the Dormant Accounts Act 2001, he will find that "agency" means the National Treasury Management Agency. Anywhere that the word "agency" is mentioned in the Dormant Accounts Act 2001 and in this Bill, it refers to the National Treasury Management Agency because that is what the definition at the front of the Bill states. Therefore, anywhere the Bill...

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Deputy has got it in one.

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: May I have one minute to explain the situation clearly?

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Yes, but it refers to the chief executive of the agency. I know this is complicated but in fact——

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I wish to explain as simply as I can. Perhaps I can do this in one and a half minutes. At present, there are two bodies involved. The management of the fund, which, as all the Deputies noted, contains a great deal of money, is performed by the National Treasury Management Agency. It manages the fund and its chief executive must ensure that the agency attempts to get the best returns for the...

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: We have discussed this before. This is the entire basis of the Bill. The board will draw up a plan which it will present to the Minister who will bring it before the Cabinet, which he is not currently obliged to do, and it will then review the actions. It is all in section 41. This is rehashing——

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Can we agree to take the amendment now?

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I am advised I must propose the section.

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is fine. I am not in a hurry.

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I was saying before the break that the reason I cannot accept this amendment is that the role of disbursement is being changed from the board to the various Departments. Therefore, the responsibility for accountability has to follow the person, group or Department that makes the disbursements. That is what makes the Deputy's amendment impossible. We checked the position during the break. A...

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The committee may invite the person to appear before it. I could not give the Deputy a ruling on compellability because I am not 100% sure. If the dormant accounts board was unhappy with anything and it was invited to appear before the committee, I do not think it would be necessary to send a second invitation.

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Ba mhaith liom moladh go nglacfar leis an mBille agus buíochas a ghlacadh leis na Teachtaí a ghlac páirt sa díospóireacht. Tuigim go bhfuil malairt tuairime faoin mBille ach, agus é sin ráite, agus é ag dul tríd an dá Theach, bhí díospóireacht thar a bheith foirfe, ciallmhar agus iomlán ann. Tá lúcháir orm gur éirigh linn an Bille seo a chur tríd gan deifir agus gan aon...

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Deputy obviously never heard of the Ombudsman. If disbursements are made that do not accord with the published criteria——

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ——the Ombudsman would give full redress. If the Deputy does not understand that, he knows very little about the workings of the board.

Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (11 May 2005)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No. It is the power——