Results 12,441-12,460 of 16,492 for speaker:Ciarán Lynch

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Sometimes the Minister would like to know what is in the note.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I would like the Minister to clarify something before we move on. Are semi-state bodies included under this legislation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Therefore, the Dublin Airport Authority, the ESB, Bord Gáis and Iarnród Éireann are excluded.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: The Oireachtas committee that examined this matter quite extensively recommended that Irish Water should be subject to the Freedom of Information Acts. That was one of the committee's 141 recommendations. Is it proposed that Irish Water will be exempt as well?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I ask the Minister to be brief because I must call Deputy Harris.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I must ask the Minister to be as brief as possible.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I will bring in Deputy Donnelly again later.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: If the Deputy reiterates something, he is using his time to say something that has been said already.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Indeed, but I will tell Deputy Dara Murphy when his time is up.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: We are meeting the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, to discuss the general scheme of the freedom of information (amendment) Bill. I welcome the Minister and his officials. The Minister has supplied his full opening address, which we will take as read, as was proposed when it was issued earlier by the clerk. We will then deal with the main points to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I understand the Minister will be with us until 4 p.m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I will try to divide up the time evenly. Has the Minister set out a timeframe as to when he hopes the legislation will be passed and enacted?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: The Bill contains significant provisions to extend the powers of the Ombudsman and reduce fees. Of the three issues I wish to raise, the first is that of the non-public bodies now falling under the legislation - for example, NGOs that receive the majority or largest portion of their funding from the State's coffers. Will they be required to make full disclosures of all information, be it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: No.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: For example, the Private Residential Tenancies Board, PRTB, will fall under the legislation in light of the recent Residential Tenancies Act. We are referring to NGOs or non-statutory organisations that provide a public service or fulfil a public function. Will charitable organisations that receive significant sums, be they housing agencies or other bodies, fall within the Bill's remit?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: Without mentioning specific charitable organisations, some could have significant governance issues as regards their funding. For example, some NGOs that operate in developing countries receive significant funding from the State. Their accountancy and governance structures will be subject to freedom of information requests.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: I will address two other agencies. I am trying to manage my time. It seems that the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, the National Pensions Reserve Fund, NPRF, and the National Development Finance Agency, NDFA, will also fall within the scope of freedom of information requests. When the NAMA legislation was passed, it was almost...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Ciarán Lynch: The Garda will also be required to provide more detailed information under the Freedom of Information Act. Obviously, there are issues of security and sensitivity regarding investigations and matters that are before the court. Recently, an issue arose in terms of the Garda quashing penalty points. As the Minister views this legislation, would that type of information be accessible? Could...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Ciarán Lynch: May I make an interjection? Meetings have a determined period of time. I have been sitting here since 9.30 a.m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Scrutiny of EU Legislative Proposals (20 Dec 2012)

Ciarán Lynch: I have one simple question. In terms of supervision, does the person appear before the Dáil or the European Parliament? Are the witnesses saying they are accountable to parliament?