We will proceed to the election of a Chairman and Vice Chairman. Pursuant to Standing Order 90.1, I invite nominations for the position of Chairman.
Election of Chairman
Clerk to the Committee
I nominate Deputy Alex White, the former leader of the Labour group in the Seanad with considerable experience. I believe he would make an excellent Chair.
I second the proposal. Deputy White will bring a great range of knowledge to the Chair of this committee and I wish him well in the brief.
Clerk to the Committee
Are there any other nominations? As there are no other nominations, I declare Deputy Alex White Chairman of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform and call on him to take the Chair.
Deputy Alex White took the Chair.
I thank my colleagues for reposing their confidence - I will put it no stronger than that - in me as Chair of the committee. It is a great honour and privilege for me to be elected to chair this very important committee. I look forward to the work of the committee over the period of its operation which one expects should be almost five years, but one does not know. I am sure we will all agree that we will do our work in a spirit of co-operation and partnership. There are many challenges for us. I believe we can bring all the combined skills and enthusiasm that exist in this room to bear and make it an extremely productive committee in the period ahead. I formally welcome everyone as members of the committee, particularly those who are newly elected to Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann. I look forward to working with each and every one of them in the period ahead.
In the 30th Dáil the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service was a very wide-ranging committee that deservedly attracted considerable public attention, particularly in the past two to three years. It is appropriate that we should pay tribute to the work of that committee, which left an important legacy to us through the major body of work that it carried out. In particular I recall the report on macroeconomic policy and effective fiscal and economic governance it published in November 2010. I am sure we would all aspire to building on the legacy of the work that committee achieved.
As members expect and are entitled to expect, I can assure them that as Chairman I will endeavour to be absolutely fair and impartial to all members of the committee, irrespective of membership of party or none. That is my absolute intention at the outset of the work of the committee. We should endeavour as far as is possible to adopt a non-partisan approach to the issues and challenges that come before us in so far as it is possible for us to do that. We should operate in a businesslike fashion and a professional way to get through the work before us. We should debate it where necessary and where there are conflicts or disagreements we can have them teased out and tested in this arena. However, I am sure we will all proceed in a businesslike fashion so that we can make a real contribution to public discourse on the issues with which we are dealing and also in respect of the work with which we are charged here, for example dealing with legislation referred to us by the Dáil. I am sure all members will contribute to our work and will have an opportunity to see their efforts bearing fruit. It will be a worthwhile committee of which to be a member. Working together we will achieve results and add value to the standing and status of parliamentary committees in general. After those introductory remarks, the first formal business I am required to conduct is to deal with the election of a Vice Chairman. I now call for nominations for the position of Vice Chairman.
After those introductory remarks, the first formal business I am required to conduct is to deal with the election of a Vice Chairman. I now call for nominations for the position of Vice Chairman.
I propose Deputy Liam Twomey as Vice Chairman.
I formally second that.
Are there any other nominations? As there are no other nominations I deem Deputy Liam Twomey to be elected Vice Chairman and I am delighted to be the first person to congratulate him on attaining that post.
The joint committee went into private session at 2.35 p.m. and adjourned at 3.40 p.m. sine die.