Results 13,061-13,080 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: I move amendment No. 23: In page 5, before section 2, to insert the following new section:3.—The Fiscal Responsibility Act 2012 is amended in section 8 by substituting the following for subsection (4):“(4) The Fiscal Council shall—(a) endorse, as it considers appropriate, the macroeconomic forecasts prepared by the Department of Finance on which the Budget and stability...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: This amendment is part of the legislative steps to bring the budgetary reforms that we have agreed to at European level into statute law here. A number of changes to our budgetary process are being introduced and the Bill, as amended, should complete all the necessary changes required before next year's budget. On the Deputy's question, this is the legislative vehicle we have before the end...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: I asked that question of the Parliamentary Counsel.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: No.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: The independent macroeconomic forecast is defined in the definition under Article 2 of the two pack regulation. "Macroeconomic forecast" means macroeconomic forecasts produced or endorsed by independent bodies, as opposed to state bodies.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: I will come back to it. On the Deputy's first point about the word "endorse", it seems in plain English that it is required to endorse, but that is like saying it is required to give a judgment. I asked the Parliamentary Counsel about the words "shall endorse". That means it shall make a determination in terms of endorsing.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: No, in legal language I am advised by the Parliamentary Counsel that "shall endorse" means either shall endorse or shall not endorse. It is entitled to do either and that is captured by the phrase used.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: I am afraid so.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: With all due respect to the Deputy, the Parliamentary Counsel advises on the legal language used.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: We will stick with what we have in front of us today.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: That sounds eminently sensible to me.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: Yes, but I am not the Parliamentary Counsel. For the avoidance of doubt, I will go back to the Parliamentary Counsel between now and Report Stage.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: I will ask.
- Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: I thank Senator Byrne. I can give the reassurance formally on the floor of the House that there is no compulsory redeployment implicit in the legislation. The provision was included to facilitate cross-sectoral redeployment that does not exist at present and to facilitate the PAS in its role. Senator Byrne has correctly interpreted the legislation. Respect for all of the agreements will...
- Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: The amendment simply seeks to replace "or" with "and". For consistency, I spoke with the House about the approach to the Haddington Road proposals. I have considered amendment No. 3 since we debated it here on Committee Stage. I was concerned that the provision, as drafted, could be interpreted as enabling PAS to decide, in a given case, to have regard to a collective agreement to the...
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: There are procedures about legislation. One cannot simply have evolving legislation onto which one appends provisions every year.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: It is a new finance Bill. We will not restate the principles of accounting.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: That is done in the budgetary White Paper, which is the pre-budget document.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: Okay.
- Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (26 Jun 2013)
Brendan Howlin: I myself have been learning in the past two years. One would imagine one would know what is current expenditure and capital expenditure. Some, for historic reasons - as Deputy Mathews correctly stated - such as warships, are current.