Results 19,741-19,760 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 5: In page 6, to delete lines 7 to 10 and substitute the following:“(4) In conducting a review the Minister shall—(a) consult the Commission, (b) take into account any relevant report of a committee appointed by either House of the Oireachtas or jointly by both Houses, and (c) consult such persons carrying on lobbying activities and such bodies representing...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 6: In page 6, lines 27 to 35, to delete all words from and including “(1) For” in line 27 down to and including line 35 and substitute the following:“(1) For the purposes of this Act a person carries on lobbying activities if the person—(a) makes, or manages or directs the making of, any relevant communications on behalf of another person in...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: A lot of them overlap and deal with the same issue.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: They were published this afternoon.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Yes.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Perhaps the Deputy should have waited to read the guidelines before drafting legislation.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I said I would publish them within six weeks of my last announcement.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: God help us.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: A lot of people are going to be obliged to register.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: One thing of which we can be certain is that it was never included by Fianna Fáil under any legislation.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I will first say a few general words to capture the themes that have been expressed by both Deputies.  This is a new area of operation to register and capture the lobbying of power - the lobbying of Government.  Probably more preparatory work went into this legislation than into the legislation on freedom of information, the protection of whistleblowers and all other such...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Section 1(g). Apologies; it is section 6(1)(g). Section 6(1)(g) allows the definition of the lobbied to be extended, which I intend to do that but, again, on the basis of experience. The first iteration of this will be secretaries general of the Departments, assistant secretaries general, principal officers, chief executive officers of local authorities, chief executives of companies and...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The first group of people to be captured is set out on page 8 and includes, Ministers, Ministers of State, Members of Dáil and Seanad Éireann, members of the European Parliament for constituencies within the State, members of local authorities, special advisers appointed under section 11 of the Public Service Management Act and public servants of a prescribed description. I presume...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: It provides for any other prescribed office holders or description of persons and is future proofing the provision. I do not want to go much beyond the current list at this point. I do not yet have a list of the other people to be included. This is an issue which this committee might reflect on after a year. We need to give it a year to see how it works. If following a review the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The threshold is not written in stone.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy is right that my aim in developing the Bill was to preserve normal and proper communications and interaction between individuals, as citizens, and their local representatives. I want to ensure, in so far as possible, that there will be no impact on these exchanges as a result of this legislation. Therefore, the private affairs of individuals have been specifically excluded from...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I can think of two examples, one involving the painting of a house. That could not be captured in terms of lobbying. What occurred was in the normal course of corrupt action; it had nothing to do with lobbying per se.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I will ask my officials to think further about it to see if there is any merit in what the Deputy is saying. If she has further thoughts, she might send them to me.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 24: In page 7, to delete lines 9 to 12.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Registration of Lobbying Bill 2014: Committee Stage (25 Nov 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 27: In page 7, to delete lines 16 and 17 and substitute the following:“(e) communications of factual information made in response to a request for the information;”.I am proposing amendment No. 27 to bring greater clarity to this exemption. The reference in section 5(3)(e) in the Bill as published refers to a request by a designated public official for...