Results 47,981-48,000 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Local Government Fund (19 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: 437. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government notwithstanding the decision not to make allocations from the local government fund at a municipal district level, if for the purposes of transparency and if he will further strengthen democracy at a local level; if he will provide a breakdown of local property tax revenues on a municipal council level for 2014; and if...

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: This is a bittersweet moment for the Irish people. At the start of the crisis, we had very low national debt, very high employment, very low emigration and no negative equity or mortgage crisis. Five years later, we have heartbreaking unemployment, particularly for young people. An entire generation has been financially destroyed. We have very high emigration - the highest level ever -...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I ask if the Minister could provide that information in writing as it is quite detailed.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Is there any case in which the Information Commissioner might want to go into a Garda station but not seize documents? Have we gone slightly too far here and is there a happy medium?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Who makes that decision?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: There are existing regulations.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Do they exist for the current Bill or is this a new power, a new restriction?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: So this is to limit that.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: So this is new and provides a boundary condition on including the Garda Síochána.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Sometimes that is enough.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: This is new but it is not limiting the issue around the gardaí. It is a boundary on a new power.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I know this is not the Minister’s call but it is not the spirit of the legislation that this would apply to all Garda stations.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I know it is not the Minister’s call but am I right in thinking that it is not his intention that all Garda stations would be designated.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I move amendment No. 80: In page 73, line 2, after “matters” to insert the following:“, or the factors and policy choices made by the Commissioner and his or her staff when determining the deployment of Garda personnel in the State”.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: We do not need to go over all of this again but I wish to make one or two additional points. The Minister's position is clear. He may respond if he wishes. I am not trying to get back into a debate on the issue. The committee recommended in its report that monopoly semi-State providers should have to comply with the rigours of the FOI Bill. I think it is worth pointing that out to...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I move amendment No. 75: In page 68, to delete lines 1 to 8.This is a minor issue to do with the Information Commissioner being allowed to visit Garda stations. I understand that under the proposed Bill, the commissioner cannot visit Garda stations. I am told by people who understand this issue better than me that this is not normal European practice. My amendment proposes to allow the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: For the information of members, I would like to provide a context for the scale of the amounts we are talking about. In 2009, €115,000 was collected in fees from FOI. Under reasonable assumptions, about €64,000 was from the up-front fee of €15. Using a conservative assumption of a processing charge of €7 per fee, the net gain to the Exchequer from the up-front...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Yes, it was 75%. It is reasonable to assume that is what the Minister is doing.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: The Minister is maintaining a fees regime. There will be fees. The Minister had the option to abolish the fees regime but is maintaining it.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 Nov 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: The Minister said that one of the reasons for keeping the fees in place was to manage the workload, to keep down the volume of freedom of information requests.