I move amendment No. 1:—
At the end of sub-section (4) to add the words "and shall be accounted for in the Vote for Gaeltacht Services of the annual Estimates for public services".
The Minister is responsible to the House for all expenditure taking place under the Vote for which he is charged and on the annual Estimates the House has an opportunity of reviewing the administration of this Department, other Departments and any ancillary matters in which Deputies may be interested. The fundamental position, of course, is that the House is responsible for expenditure and the House controls it. The Minister comes with his annual Estimate and then there is a discussion upon his proposals. Fault has been found in the past with the system of State or semi-State companies for which the House provides the money although it has not an opportunity on the annual Estimate or in some other way of reviewing their work. Such State or semi-State company is precluded because as it is financed in another manner it will be declared to be out of order for the House to discuss its working.
In this Bill the Minister is taking the majority holding in regard to a company which has very important work to perform and which will certainly, I am sure, be of the greatest possible advantage to the Gaeltacht area. I think there is no sound reason why the House should not have the opportunity of getting the fullest possible explanation about the working of this particular scheme. It may be that for technical reasons the Minister had to adopt this particular procedure of taking the majority holding of the shares of the company and working through a nominee, but it is certainly a principle that is, I think, at variance with the principle that he is responsible to the House and that the House controls expenditure, as when this Bill becomes law we are to have no opportunity whatever on the annual Estimate of referring to the operation of this company. The Minister has given us no information as to the exact functions of this nominee. I understand that this nominee who will represent him on the board will be a civil servant. If this civil servant performs whatever duties attach to this post of nominee during his ordinary working hours, or, indeed, after his ordinary working hours, as part of his Civil Service duties, it seems to me right and proper that the work he does there representing the Minister—in fact, he is only acting by the Minister's direction and carrying out the Minister's policy—should come up for review. Since he is responsible, as I have said, in a particular way to the Minister, I can see no reason why the work he does representing the Minister in this particular company should not come up for review precisely in the same way as the work of other officials who administer schemes in connection with Gaeltacht industries.
Though it is very difficult as the Bill stands to secure the aim I have in mind of having the position that the Dáil will be entitled to review the work of the company when the annual Estimates are under discussion, I think that this amendment may go some distance at any rate to enable us to refer to the work of the company upon these Estimates. If the Minister is going to give us assurance that arrangements will be made by which it will be made clear in the annual Estimate for Gaeltacht services that whatever remuneration this civil servant gets by reason of his work as nominee will be clearly stated then of course the question will settle itself, but I am assuming that that is not the Minister's intention. I propose that not alone will arrangements be made in regard to certain matters which are provided for under Section 4 but that there will be a definite direction from the House that these matters shall also be accounted for as far as expenditure is concerned by definite reference under the Gaeltacht Vote.