Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

The reason that is a necessary accompaniment to much legislation is the essential control which the Minister for Finance must maintain over expenditure and numbers in establishments in every branch of the State. By tradition the Department of Finance, as senior Department, frequently imposes a statutory obligation on a Minister to consult with it prior to a matter pertaining to establishment being raised by the relevant line Department. It is not desirable, as a matter of general principle which is separate from the Department of Finance's unique position, to put this type of matter into legislation. Ministers should consult each other all the time. While the proviso to protect the interests of the Department of Finance which is often inserted is understandable because it relates to a fundamental constitutional point regarding that Department's priority over other Departments, in general it is not desirable. The Minister with responsibility for consumer affairs, who is a Minister of State with delegated responsibility, is free at any time to consult the Minister for Finance about the appointment of a director of consumer affairs under the legislation. If that Minister is doing his or her job correctly he or she might decide to consult the Minister for Finance about it. There is no bar to Ministers consulting each other, irrespective of whether that is dealt with in legislation.

Amendment put and declared lost.