Results 9,141-9,160 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I acknowledged that.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I presume no Member of this House would question the right of any other Member to put down amendments on Committee Stage. If these proposals are out of order, we should let the Chair, through the officials, rule on that. I take grave exception to Members' comments. I have complimented the Minister, Deputy Howlin, on what he has done. However, to say we cannot propose additional functions...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I move amendment 4a: In page 12, before section 5, to insert the following new section: "5.-----The appointed day for the purpose of this Act shall be 1 July 2011.". This is a minor amendment. Perhaps the Minister of State could give her views on the day to be appointed. We thought it was slightly vague and that it might be better to insert a date for the appointed day, rather than giving...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Is the Minister of State expecting that date to be 20 July?

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: That is reasonable, if it were to happen, and I certainly hope it does. It might be worth putting it into legislation, so we might try to insert it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I move amendment No. 7: In page 12, between lines 42 and 43, to insert the following subsection: "(5) The Minister shall— (a) within 40 days of the appointed day lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, a report providing consolidated details of his powers as conferred directly by this Act and any delegation orders, and (b) within 20 days of...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: What he is doing is important for the future of this country. Nonetheless, people need to understand the Minister's role, what he is going to do and what powers he will have, so that they can contribute to the Minister's proposals. They may, for example, want to take part in the public consultations the Minister has launched, seeking ideas from the public. The Minister has, rightly, taken...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: That was disappointing. We are seeking a change in the way the Government does things. There have been many promises and leaks to the media, as well as much talk. What we want is action. The public needs to know exactly what the Minister can do. From reading the legislation, it is impossible to know his full list of powers.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Not all of the statutory functions being transferred to him are listed. There is no comprehensive list of what he can do. We do not know what is contained in the delegation orders, as they will be signed after the enanctment of the legislation. The amendment seeks to let the public know, by way of this document, how the new Minister will do things differently. The process would be...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It is called Committee Stage.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Is there not an Estimates process?

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: What is Senator Sheahan talking about?

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: For such an important debate, I feel there are insufficient Members on the Government side, especially as the Government wants to rush the Bill through. I suggest a quorum of Members be present.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: We are discussing a very important Bill. I accept that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, cannot be here. In his absence I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. However, it would be appropriate to have more Members in the Chamber for the debate. Therefore, I call for a quorum.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I have no issue with these amendments. However, it is interesting that one of them refers to the Irish language version of the Minister's title.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: On that general point, we want the Bill to be passed and the Minister to have the powers accorded therein. I have made numerous complaints on the Order of Business and in the media about this issue, that the Minister for public expenditure and reform who essentially controls the deficit has no statutory powers and that it is very important that this Bill is passed. On a practical basis,...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I spoke to the amendment, the section and the Bill and I am quite entitled to so do. I do not accept Senator Ivana Bacik's response that our amendments do not go to the heart of the Bill, as one can propose any amendment one likes to a Bill. Moreover, I do not accept that this has something to do with the President leaving the country because my understanding is that the Cathaoirleach,...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Especially as Fianna Fáil intends to support the Bill.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I have no questions.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Jun 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Do Irish-speaking members of the public not have a right to receive the Irish language version of the Bill? It is not just a question of law or adhering to the Official Languages Act, it is also a question of adhering to the Constitution and the fundamental law and culture of the State. My understanding is that this happened only once during the term of the previous Government and in that...