Results 7,581-7,600 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed). (9 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: The provision, as drafted, provides that the Minister shall ensure the superannuation schemes are laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as practicable after such a scheme is approved. Section 22 provides that either House of the Oireachtas may annul a superannuation scheme. The text is in line with the standard provisions of legislation relating to similar State bodies and I am...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed). (9 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: Public sector pensions are dealt with in this manner. Standard corporate governance requires that the State through the Minister for Finance and the Minister of the parent Department looks after pensions and I do not propose to depart from that practice. The best protection any pensioner can get is from the State.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed). (9 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: Section 25 provides for the drafting of a code of conduct in respect of standards of integrity and concern for the public interest. That code must apply to directors, the CEO, employees, consultants and advisers engaged by NORA and the employees of those consultants and advisers. The code is additional to the requirements on NORA's directors under the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, which...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed). (9 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: A balance must be maintained in these situations. The only public servants at a similar level who must make disclosures that are open to public scrutiny are officials in, for example, An Bord Pleanála, who are involved in a process that should be open. The directors will provide a public service and the State will avail of their expertise in the areas outlined in the Bill. A Deputy asked...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed). (9 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: Section 30(1)(g) provides that, if required by the Minister, NORA shall provide the Minister with information relating to its policy and activities other than day-to-day activities. That provision, as drafted, provides for appropriate corporate governance of NORA. The Deputy is concerned that activities affecting policy might not be reported to the Minister but that is adequately catered...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed). (9 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: The proposed amendments are already fully catered for within the Bill. Provision for compliance by Ireland with the EU obligation, which currently stands at 90 days, is already provided for in section 32(1)(a), which provides that "The Agency shall maintain ... such oil stocks ... at — (a) a level sufficient to comply with the State's stockholding obligations". That provision also...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed). (9 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: I will stick to the amendments before the House. I will respond to what Deputy Durkan said. My mother used to say that if you had a dog, you should not bark yourself. These amendments are in that category. There is no point in setting up a semi-State agency such as NORA to do a job within the limits set down in legislation by this House and then second-guessing it on the appointment of...

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: The service provider approved for grant aid under the group broadband scheme for the provision of broadband in the North Tipperary area has informed my Department that customers have been connected in this area. Despite Government investment in broadband deployment in the regions through the regional broadband programme, there are still some parts of the country where the private sector will...

Written Answers — Post Office Network: Post Office Network (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: The matter of post office closures and conversions is, in the first instance, an operational matter for the Board and management of An Post and one in which I have no function. I would refer the Deputy to the table. I have been informed by An Post that their records do not subdivide to lower than county level. Therefore the list details the number and locations of post offices converted or...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: Are we on the amendment?

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: It does not sound like it.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: I thought Report Stage was to deal directly with the amendments before us. It gets a bit tiresome listening to the same type of contribution, time and time again. I was tempted to ignore it all and just address the amendment before us, but seeing as though people have got such latitude it would be remiss of me not to respond to some of the stuff to which I have had to listen for the past 45...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: The Minister of State with responsibility for energy policy at the time was a member of the Deputy's party. It is strange that he did not do something about that because of the so-called scandalous deal done in 1992.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: It should have been fresh in the minds of Labour Party members when they went into power with Fianna Fáil that this was a terrible scandal and a terrible giveaway with the people being abandoned. Why did they not do something about it? The files on the terms for oil and gas exploration were not even opened by the then Minister of State. It is a poor reflection on Labour Party Members if...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: They can write off expenses relating to wells. If a company discovers gas or oil and brings it ashore, as will happen with the Corrib gas field, the expenses relating to the discovery can be written off with the balance taxed at a rate of 25%. Indecon is conducting the review mentioned by the Deputies. The Department conducted an internal review, which will also form part of the review by...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: This arose on Committee Stage and I undertook to consider the Deputy's amendment regarding the removal of directors of the board and to return to the matter on Report Stage. The wording of the provision in section 14 of the Bill is a standard text used in legislation for the removal of directors. We considered the Deputy's proposed amendment and with the benefit of the advice of the...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: I appreciate what the Deputy has said and the motivation behind the amendment. We had a good discussion on this on an earlier Stage. I was of a mind to have another look at it to see whether it could be facilitated. At the end of the day the very practical advice I was given was that it would be quite impossible to get a person's doctor to confirm to another medical person of the board...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: The answer is I do not know until the circumstances arise. I presume the Minister would not make a decision off his own bat. Presumably what would happen is that a person would have missed six, eight or ten board meetings because of ill health and would probably have made it known to the board.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: I know, but the Minister would not suddenly decide that a person was in ill health. What would happen is that, for one reason or another, the person would miss a number of meetings or may have acted erratically at a board meeting or meetings. There could be circumstances of which the Minister would be advised. On the basis of the advice and evidence given to him, perhaps a doctor's...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Report Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2006)

Noel Dempsey: The Bill as it stands embraces the intention of Deputy Durkan's amendment. The provisions of section 14 are comprehensive in regard to the appointment and removal of directors. The directors of the NORA board, who will be in situ when section 14 is commenced, should continue in office under the terms on which they were appointed and the expertise of board members should remain available to...