Results 381-400 of 406 for speaker:Charlie McCreevy

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: Section 21 extends the power to refuse to confirm or deny the existence of a record to a record containing personal information where the mere acknowledgement of the existence or non-existence of the record concerned could undermine the exemption or reveal the sensitive personal information contained in the record. The Long Title of the existing Freedom of Information Act accepts the need for...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I am not accepting this amendment in its present form. The issue is being examined by me. Section 3 of the principal Act contains a provision which allows the Minister for Finance to make regulations for the purpose of giving full effect to the Freedom of Information Act in order that the further legal clarification that appears in this provision may permit regulations to be made or to...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I will not accept this amendment either. This section provides for a period of four weeks from the initiation of third party consultation in burdensome cases. It is believed that in cases involving significant amounts of records or a large number of third parties who need to be consulted under section 29 of the principal Act, two weeks gives an insufficient amount of time for decision makers...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I admit to being unclear about this amendment which refers, I note with some trepidation, to any necessary modifications. I gather its purpose is to provide for formal third party consultation in accordance with the procedure under section 29 of the principal Act at the internal review stage of making decisions. This issue received considerable attention in the course of the preparation of...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I will not be accepting this amendment. I understand it relates to an issue raised by the Information Commissioner in his recent report. Further consideration is being given by my Department to the appropriate mechanism for dealing with this issue. Amendment, by leave, withdrawn.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I do not propose to accept the amendment. The purpose of section 25 is to exclude from the FOI Act records relating to the costing by a public body of proposals by a political party. This is a long-standing agreement between political parties. The section also restricts the principal Act in relation to parliamentary briefing records, including those treated as a brief for parliamentary...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: We debated this issue earlier. The purpose of the relevant provision is to permit the Minister for Finance to prescribe a fee, in regulations, to be charged by a public body in respect of requests for access to a non-personal record under section 7 of the principal Act. There was also a provision for a fee to be prescribed in respect of an application for internal review under section 14, or...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: Did the Senator refer to some of the objections of the Fine Gael members of the Government of which Fine Gael was a part? I must look at the files when I get around to it.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: It was I who christened her.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: The Senator was with me on the major issues.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I thank Senators for their contributions and note the Leader's comment that the Bill has been discussed for 27 hours in this House. If an important Bill is before the Seanad next year at the same time as a certain meeting of Irish people abroad, I will endeavour to arrange a suitable tent in that arena in order that Senators can debate the matter there.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (4 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: I am pleased to introduce the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003 to the House. I am conscious that the Freedom of Information Act began its life as a Seanad Bill and that this House played an important role in shaping that legislation. It is essential that citizens have confidence and trust in Government and public administration. The Government is firmly committed to this...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (4 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: In extending this timeframe to four months, it is reasonable to expect that the vast majority of reviews will be closed within that period. The various technical measures in the Bill draw from a review conducted by the Civil Service users network in 1999, from discussions and interactions with the Office of the Information Commissioner and from experience gained since the Act came into force.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (4 Mar 2003)

Charlie McCreevy: As Senators will be aware, we have an elaborate system for supporting the implementation of FOI and for involving the various stakeholders and users of the legislation in dialogue on its operation. Within my Department, the FOI central policy unit chairs an interdepartmental working group and a public service users network with representatives from all sectors of the civil and public service...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Charlie McCreevy: I am delighted to have the opportunity to present the National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002 to the Seanad today. The proposed National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, will assist in providing cost effective finance for priority infrastructure projects. It is a clear indication of the Government's commitment to the ongoing development of this country that the establishment of NDFA...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Charlie McCreevy: No, I have been here before.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Charlie McCreevy: If that is true, I must start worrying about myself.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Charlie McCreevy: Senator Minihan is not a member of Fianna Fáil.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Charlie McCreevy: It was a great slogan.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Charlie McCreevy: We thought of it ourselves.