Results 12,201-12,220 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: They are among the reasons. There is a real cost to doing this. Asking people who avail of a service to contribute to its cost is a principle that I do not disagree with. If we were in the time when, as a Tánaiste of long ago described it, the country was awash with money, we might have a different focus. As of now, we are required to charge for a variety of services, many of which I...
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 53: In page 43, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following:“Fees and Charges 27. (1) (a) A fee of such amount (if any) as may be prescribed shall be charged by the FOI body concerned under this subsection and paid by the requester or, as the case may be, the applicant concerned to the body in respect of an FOI request, or an application under section 21 or an...
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: It is the application of the law since 1997 to avoid building a Trojan horse around an exemption.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: "Fall to be granted."
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: Yes. This is designed to prevent people from sitting on them forever.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: I am informed it does, but I do not have numbers.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: Yes.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: We had an external review leading up to this legislation and it was indicated that it might be useful to have a user group in tandem with the recommendation of the committee. I am giving consideration to this recommendation. It is not necessary to provide for it in legislation.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: I prefer the Houses of the Oireachtas to operate the committee system to oversee these issues, to discuss how they are working with the Information Commissioner and to seek and make recommendations rather than having a parallel process.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: I am advised that it is intended to provide for this in the code of practice. There will be a users network.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: Yes.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: Many bodies follow this regime closely and we have heard from a number of them in the past few days. They work with a variety of networks, including the Open Government Partnership, for example, and review the operation of the system, make recommendations, network and comment on them all the time.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: This is part of the consolidation, a replication of the law since 1997. It seemed good and appropriate to the Oireachtas then; it has stood the test of time and not been abused, to my knowledge.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: The former Minister of State did a sterling job on this legislation in 1997.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: If a Minister determined that a particular piece of information, because of its sensitivity, importance or standing, should be divulged in the first instance to the Oireachtas rather than through an FOI request, it would be deferred. If I planned to launch something in five weeks time and received an FOI request, I could defer it for one week until I had brought it first to the Dáil....
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 44: In page 32, to delete lines 30 to 39, and in page 33, to delete lines 1 to 6 and substitute the following:“(4) Where an FOI request relates to data contained in more than one record held on an electronic device by the FOI body concerned—(a) subject to paragraph (b), the FOI body shall take reasonable steps to search for and extract the records to which...
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: The Deputy is asking a non-technical person.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: I have no idea what a SQL code is.
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: Does anybody know what a SQL code is?
- 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)
Brendan Howlin: Is it a sequential code?