Vol. 418 No. 6
83 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Finance if he will arrange for a method of replies to parliamentary questions by appropriate Ministers to whom semi-State bodies are ultimately responsible and to which Members of the Oireachtas are not at present entitled; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The wording of the Deputy's question is somewhat unclear, but if what he is suggesting is that Ministers should be answerable for the day-to-day activities of State-sponsored bodies I could not agree. It is as well to recall that one of the reasons why the State-sponsored sector evolved as it has over the years has been the recognition by successive Governments that, while Ministers should be answerable to the House for the broad policies pursued by State bodies in their areas of responsibility, they can not and should not be answerable for day-to-day activities of these bodies. Such matters are the responsibility of management, reporting in the first instance to the board of directors. The board is, of course, answerable to the relevant Minister, who, in turn, is answerable to this House.
If, on the other hand, the Deputy is endeavouring to ensure that the House is entitled to adequate information about the operations and performance of State-sponsored bodies, then let me say that I share fully the Deputy's concern that there be adequate accountability by State bodies to this House, whether by way of parliamentary questions, legislative safeguards or debate. There are a number of mechanisms in place to ensure that Ministers in pursuance of their responsibility to the House have access to relevant information in regard to State bodies. These range from statutory limits on and ministerial approval of borrowing, to appointment of directors, approval of capital expenditure, establishment or acquisition of subsidiaries and submission of annual and interim reports and accounts. In many cases, authority is delegated, subject to agreed limits.
In addition to the foregoing, commercial State bodies are, of course, answerable to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on State-sponsored bodies in relation to their reports and accounts and operational results. The committee also examine common issues in relation to board responsibility, structures and organisation, accountability and financing as well as the relationship of commercial State bodies with central Government and the Houses of the Oireachtas.
