Thomas Byrne (Fianna Fail)

I move amendment No. 7:

In page 12, between lines 42 and 43, to insert the following subsection:

"(5) The Minister shall—

(a) within 40 days of the appointed day lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, a report providing consolidated details of his powers as conferred directly by this Act and any delegation orders, and

(b) within 20 days of the appointed day lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas details of actions and target dates which will fall due during 2011 which he or she views to be significant which relate to the preparation of the annual estimates of expenditure.".

The purpose of this amendment is to give clarity to the role of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform. The amendment requires that the Minister shall within 40 days - it was 20 days in the Dáil, but we have expanded that - of the appointed day lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas, with the approval of the Minister for Finance, a report providing consolidated details of his powers as conferred directly by this Act and any delegation orders that might be made subsequent to the Act and subsequent to the establishment of the Department.

This amendment is important because the legislation is vague concerning what powers the Minister will have, which is ironic for the Minister who will be in charge of public service reform. The amendment seeks that the public will be told exactly what the Minister is doing and what functions he will have. While the general public might not be too interested in reading a list of statutes or powers, it might be crucial for a citizen of the State who may have an issue with the Department of Finance or the Department of public expenditure and reform, to know what the Minister is doing in the interests of reform, openness and transparency.

I am impressed by the recent work undertaken by the Minister, Deputy Howlin, as a Minister without portfolio. He has sought to reform matters and has been quite radical in some respects. I wonder sometimes whether he is too radical for his own party concerning some of the items that have gone out in correspondence.