This is a Seanad Bill which has been amended by the Dáil. In accordance with Standing Order 103, it is deemed to have passed its First, Second and Third Stages in the Seanad and is placed on the Order Paper for Report Stage. On the question, "That the Bill be received for final consideration", the Minister may explain the purpose of the amendments made by the Dáil. This is looked upon as the report of the Dáil amendments to the Seanad. The only matters, therefore, which may be discussed are the amendments made by the Dáil. For Senators' convenience, I have arranged for the printing and circulation of the amendments. Senators may speak only once on Report Stage.
Ordnance Survey Ireland Bill, 2001 [ Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil ] : Report and Final Stages.
Question proposed: "That the Bill be received for final consideration."
I propose to recommend to the House the amendments made by Dáil Éireann to this Bill. Essentially, the Bill as passed by the Seanad last April provides for the setting up of the Ordnance Survey as a State body outside the Civil Service. At present, the Ordnance Survey or OSI is a Civil Service office under the aegis of the Minister for Finance. This Bill will enable OSI to have the freedom to operate with a more commercial focus, subject to appropriate controls. The main role of OSI will, however, continue to be that of operating in the public interest by creating and maintaining the definitive mapping and geographic records of the State. Accordingly, a key provision in the Bill is that OSI will be required to provide for the State specific services to high standards of quality in return for a subvention from the Exchequer.
Since the Bill was passed by the Seanad a number of amendments were made by the Dáil, almost all of which were of a technical nature or for the purpose of clarification. I now propose to comment on each of these amendments.
Since the passing of the Bill by Seanad Éireann the Company Law Enforcement Act, 2001, has been enacted. Amendment No. 1 was, therefore, necessary to bring the OSI Bill up to date. The purpose of amendment No. 2 was to improve clarity. In the Bill the term "The OSI" is used to denote the existing Ordnance Survey Ireland body and the term "OSI" is used to designate the new body. The word "The" is being deleted as it is the new body that is being referred to in this subsection. Amendments Nos. 3 and 8 reflect Government policy that money amounts provided in new legislation are to be designated in euro. The purpose of amendment No. 4 is to clarify subsection 11(11).
Amendment No. 5 arose from an undertaking I gave on Committee Stage in the Dáil to return to section 14(14) of the Bill as a response to comments by Deputies that this section was unnecessarily restrictive. Although, as pointed out by one Deputy, it is generally the case that chief officers of State bodies do not express opinions on Government policy, I also, on reconsideration of section 14, came to the conclusion that as it originally stood this section was unnecessarily restrictive. The purpose of this amendment was to ensure that the statutory prohibition on the chief executive officer in relation to questioning or commenting on the merits of Government or ministerial policy would only refer to his or her appearances before the Committee of Public Accounts.
Subsections (13) and (14) combined form what have now become the standard accountability provisions for chief executives of new statutory State bodies and these are also consistent with the SMI process. Other examples of these provisions are to be found in the Employment Equality Act and in the Human Rights Commission Act. Subsection (14) derives from the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act, 1993, and is consistent with Dáil Éireann Standing Order 149 which sets out the terms of reference of the Committee of Public Accounts. Amendments Nos. 6 and 7 were made to improve clarity.
Section 26 was deleted as the provisions in section 24 of the Bill are a sufficient mechanism for the Minister to advance moneys provided by the Oireachtas to OSI for the performance of its functions. In addition, the deletion of section 26 removed any suggestion that moneys would be advanced directly from the central fund to the OSI. Amendments 9 and 10 were made to improve the clarity of the relevant subsections. Amendment 11 was a technical amendment which was aimed at clarifying the status of the OSI between enactment of this legislation and establishment day.
I thank the Minister of State for coming to inform the House of the amendments made to this Bill in the Dáil. It was initiated in the Seanad last April and we had a very interesting debate then because the Ordnance Survey has a very long and proud history. That made for a very interesting Bill.
I looked at the original Bill last night and the amended Bill and I hope that the legislation as amended will more effectively give the OSI the scope it needs to be established outside the Civil Service, to sell its products and to continue the service it gives the State. As the Minister has stated, the amendments are very technical and I thank him for explaining them to us this morning. With the passing of this Bill I wish the board and staff of Ordnance Survey Ireland every success.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As was indicated when the Bill was debated here last April, the purpose of the legislation is to move the OSI from the Civil Service to the public arena with the intention of providing a higher quality service with a better commercial focus. I am glad the Bill has been amended technically to provide clarity and, in the case of section 14, to take away some of its restrictiveness. When we look back at the olden days we see the great map-making work that was done by the OSI. The Bill, as amended, will enable the organisation to provide an even better service for record purposes and to help those who require maps. I thank the Minister of State for the efforts he has made to improve the service.
I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The OSI has been a marvellous part of the Civil Service and I hope it will go from strength to strength in its new role. When the Minister of State came to the House in April one actually had the impression that he was listening to what we were saying and I thank him for that. That may sound rude in that it might seem to imply that some Ministers do not listen, but one got the feeling that the Minister of State was taking note of the various points we made. Indeed major changes were made to the Bill. I thank the Minister of State very much for the courtesy he extended to us.
I thank the Senators for their interesting and, indeed, kind remarks. The Bill arises from the application by the Ordnance Survey of the most advanced information technology for map-making. As a result all maps are now stored digitally rather than in paper form. The advent of this technology has led to the emergence of geographic information systems, or GIS, whereby map data are combined with computer software to form a powerful tool to analyse information and to provide services more efficiently. The new applications made possible by this technology have considerably broadened the customer base for mapping data and the prospect is that the demand for new and improved products and services derived from these data will continue to grow strongly for a long time to come.
The Ordnance Survey Ireland Bill, 2001, is important because it is necessary to ensure a successful future for the OSI by transforming it into a State body outside the Civil Service. If it were to remain within the Civil Service its role would largely be confined to continuing to produce mapping data, albeit of a higher quality, for the State in the public interest. The ability of the OSI to continue to develop through achieving the full commercial potential of its own data would, however, be seriously limited. The OSI would have to watch from the sidelines as its competitors made substantial profits from products and services derived from the data it produced. Accordingly, because this Bill will enable the OSI to continue to develop new mapping and geographic services, as well as to make these available to meet society's needs, its enactment will not just be in the public interest, but very much in the interest of the OSI staff as well.
The many opportunities emerging in the geographic information market combined with the new freedoms provided by this Bill point to a bright future for the OSI and its staff. This Bill was initiated in this House and generated a wide-ranging and very interesting debate on all Stages. A large number of Senators from all sides participated and demonstrated a considerable and well-informed interest, not only in the Bill, but in the history of the OSI and the important contribution it continues to make in supporting so many aspects of our society. The debate showed very clearly, yet again, the importance of the Seanad. That is underlined by the fact that amendments proposed in this House were made to the Bill, as Senator Henry has said. I thank all those who participated in the debate on all Stages and those who are here today. I thank the officials of the House, as well as my officials, for their help in moving this Bill along and in getting it passed.
Question put and agreed to.
Bill passed.