Results 11,441-11,460 of 16,492 for speaker:Ciarán Lynch

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: How stands the amendment?

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Perhaps I can add my tuppence worth with an observation that could be clarified. Doing the sums, the ratio in the House is approximately 69:31. There was a discussion earlier about trying to create a special committee. I am not too sure of the observation that a chair from the Opposition would be more impartial and the issue is subjective. Nevertheless, there is an issue of...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Amendments Nos. 4 and 5 are related and may be discussed together.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Business of Select Sub-Committee (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: We will suspend the meeting until 6 p.m. to accommodate the Minister. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I welcome the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, and his officials. The purpose of the meeting is to consider the Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013. The Bill was referred to the select committee by Dáil Éireann on 23 May 2013. Is it agreed that we try to conclude the Bill tonight? Rather than putting a...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Houses of the Oireachtas (Inquiries, Privileges and Procedures) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Amendments Nos. 2 and 3 are related and may be discussed together.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I thank Ms O'Reilly and Mr. Rafferty for coming before the committee. We will go into private session momentarily to deal with one or two matters. The Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform is due to meet at 5.30 p.m. with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, but I have got word that he will not be here until 6 p.m. We will, however, still...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Does Ms O'Reilly have a view on how the legislation would be structured and whether it would deal separately with the private citizen as opposed to corporate agencies such as media organisations in terms of application?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: On the flip side, has the Office of the Information Commissioner received complaints where there might have been disclosures of information, not necessarily through FOI requests, that might have been confidential and come under the brief of data protection - for example, medical information? Has the office ever received complaints about the disclosure of personal information such as medical,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Is it placed on the Information Commissioner's desk?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I have a question on the general oversight of confidentiality clauses regarding the Central Bank and the insolvency legislation which is working its way through the system. Certain targets have been met - by the end of this month 25% of unresolved mortgage books have to be put in place. One of the features is that the banks are engaging on confidentiality clauses with customers. I do not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: One recent item of correspondence we received brings this subject to mind. There is a recommendation in our draft report also under the heading of professional secrecy provisions as asserted and amended in various Acts since the Central Bank Act 1942. The correspondence details how somebody went to inquire about a bank's behaviour in such a matter and the bank could not disclose to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I will be proposing that the committee correspond with the Secretaries General of each Department to ask, having engaged with the Information Commissioner, that they outline in detail why they disagree with her report and recommendations.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Is that agreed? Agreed. It is not for us to make a value judgment on whether the relevant Department or the Information Commissioner is right but to get an explanation as to why this is happening. Has Ms O'Reilly ever made a recommendation to the effect that information currently in the public domain should be withdrawn from it? In my experience, the Data Protection Commissioner takes a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: In regard to Ms O'Reilly's earlier career, we learned from our meeting with representatives from the NUJ that information becomes a commodity when it is restricted. It was suggested to the representatives that if information was publicly available they would not get a scoop. Certain journalists are known for pursuing freedom of information requests. They may be tipped off about matters or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: There is freedom of information and there is understanding of information.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: With regard to a tragedy dealt with during the term of the last Dáil, the committee and the Minister were in confab with regard to some information in a report. Does this matter stem from that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I have two questions to clarify a point made by Deputy Mary Lou McDonald while summing up. In the previous round of this process there were 150 situations where there was disagreement between the Information Commissioner and the then Government. From what Ms O'Reilly has stated, I assume she has received a written explanation of the reason the Government of the day or the Department was in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Non-Disclosure Provisions Under the Freedom of Information Act: Discussion with Information Commissioner (5 Jun 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Yes, but written explanations were received from each Department of the reason it had disagreed with the Information Commissioner in this regard.