Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)

The Senator's amendment seeks to confer statutory authority on the Minister with responsibility for expenditure and public reform in the setting of certain revenues. As the Senator is aware, appropriations-in-aid are receipts that accrue directly to Departments or their agencies and which may be retained by those bodies to offset the cost of delivering services rather than submit them to the Exchequer. The level of appropriations-in-aid is determined in the context of the annual Estimates process. It is intended that functions of the Minister for Finance relating to appropriations-in-aid will transfer to the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform. This is reflected in two ways. Under section 15(5) the annual approved expenditure is a gross amount, including appropriations-in-aid. The transfer of the functions of the Minister of Finance in other legislation in respect of fees, charges, etc., to the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform will take place mostly in the transfer of functions order.

The proposed amendment would transfer explicitly to the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform functions relating to the setting of certain revenues. It is essential that there is no ambiguity in respect of the functions of the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform and the Minister for Finance in regard to matters relating to revenue. The proposed amendment is somewhat ambiguous since it does not specify or clarify the certain revenues which may be established by order and for which the Minister with responsibility for public expenditure and reform might be responsible. For this reason I do not propose to accept the amendment.