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. The Minister will deal separately with the subject matter of each related group of amendments. I have also circulated the proposed grouping. Senators may speak only once on Report Stage.
Dormant Accounts (Amendment) Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages.
I propose to take amendments Nos. 1 and 8 together. These amendments relate to the expenses involved in administering the scheme. The effect of amendment No. 1 is to provide that expenses incurred by relevant administrators will be met out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. Section 5 of the Dormant Accounts Act 2002 provides that the expenses incurred by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs in the administration of the Act are met out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. The enactment of this Bill will create responsibility for several other Ministers and this amendment provides that expenses incurred by such Ministers will also be met out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas. This was a technical amendment which I introduced on Committee Stage in the Dáil following advice from the Attorney General.
The effect of amendment No. 8 is to provide that expenses incurred by public bodies through the engagement of service providers to process and assess applications will be met out of the dormant accounts disbursement fund. Decisions about applications will be made following the assessment of applications received and my subsequent submission to the Government of a list of recommendations for disbursement from the fund. Given the wide remit of the scheme, it is likely that funding programmes will be administered by several Departments. Such Departments may engage service providers to assist in the process of receiving and assessing applications for funding. The purpose of this amendment, which I introduced on Committee Stage in the Dáil, was to provide that the cost of engaging service providers to carry out such processing work would be recoverable from the fund.
Senators will be aware that the existing board engaged Area Development Management Limited, ADM, as a service provider to administer the initial round of funding on its behalf. The board reimburses ADM all relevant costs incurred in carrying out this work. Under the new arrangements, similar provisions may apply to Departments which engage service providers to assist in the process of receiving and assessing applications for funding. It was for this reason I introduced the amendment. We are maintaining the status quo but previously this merely related to the board engaging outside assessors and paying them out of the fund, while the Department paid for its own expenses out of funding provided by the Oireachtas. This set-up might now apply to several Departments so the same approach adopted in the principal Act is being maintained.
The amendments represent a welcome change because, as the Minister has pointed out, the disbursement of money from the fund could involve a number of different Departments and different headings and the changes brought about by the amendments will speed up that process.
Could the Minister tell me when a new application for funding under the Act could be made in view of the current applications being processed?
The answer to Senator White's question is that once we have enacted legislation, we must take all necessary steps to approve a plan, which will take a number of months. All existing applications have been assessed and will either be accepted or rejected. I would hope to have a very systematic way of looking for applications in a subsequent year rather than using an omnibus approach whereby all types of applications from all sectors are solicited. We will be doing this in a few months time.
When will the new applications go in?
That is like asking how long is a piece of string, but it will probably be sometime in the autumn.
Is the Minister saying that a new application can be made in the autumn?
We would hope so.
That is excellent news.
Amendments Nos. 2 and 9 are Opposition amendments proposed in the Dáil and accepted by the Government. The effect of these amendments is to provide for the board established under the legislation to be known as an bord um chuntais dhíomhaoine or, in English, the dormant accounts board. These amendments were introduced by Deputy Brian O'Shea on Committee Stage in the Dáil and were fully supported and accepted by all parties. I acknowledge Deputy O'Shea's initiative in bringing forward this bilingual approach to naming the board.
Amendments Nos. 3 to 7, inclusive, were Government amendments introduced in the Dáil. The effect of these amendments is to provide for the board's disbursement plan to be approved by the Government, rather than by the Minister, for which the arrangement in the original legislation provides. The purposes for which funding from dormant accounts can be disbursed are sport programmes and projects tackling disadvantage and assisting people with disabilities. This very broad remit cuts across the activities of several Departments. These amendments, which I introduced on Committee Stage in the Dáil, ensure that the board's disbursement plan, which provides the overall framework within which funding proposals and decisions will be made, is considered and approved by the Government.
When the current board submitted its dispersal plan to me for approval in June 2003 I ensured it was considered and approved by the Government before the board published it. I was not required to do this under the existing legislation as I could have approved the plan. However, my view then and now is that bringing this to Government is a better procedure. The Government is involved in the new Bill at other stages of the procedure and, for coherence, I believe the plan should be approved by Government. This gap in the legislation, which I addressed on Committee Stage in the Dáil, should be accepted here.
Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghlacadh leis na Seanadóirí ar dhá thaobh den Teach as ucht na páirte a ghlac siad sa díospóireacht cheana féin. Bhí díospóireacht bhríomhar ann agus rinneadh leasuithe cuimsitheacha ar an mBille anseo. I remember having a detailed debate when we commenced Committee Stage of the Bill but we ran out of time. Senator Ryan justly asked me if I would recommit the Bill after the summer and I agreed to do so. We had a good debate here and made some amendments that improve on the Bill's original form. I hope we have set about allaying the fears of the Opposition concerning what is intended by the Bill. I thank Senators from both sides of the House for engaging in the debate and for proving once again that the Seanad has a significant role——
Hear hear.
——to play in legislation. I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Senators for making such significant contributions to this Bill.
Is mian liom tréaslú leis an Aire agus leis a oifigigh toisc an Bille seo a chur ar fáil ach chomh maith leis sin toisc go raibh sé sásta go mórmhór ligean dos na Seanadóirí a dtuairimí a chur trasna agus aird a thabhairt ar na tuairaimí sin. I compliment the Minister and his officials on the manner in which this matter has been handled. We had an excellent debate in the Seanad and what struck me clearly was the manner in which the Minister listened to the views of all Senators. He was a strong advocate of transparency in that regard and, in the long run, the whole area of dormant accounts and their productive use will be enhanced as a result of this. I do not doubt that the whole country will benefit from these funds in such a way that will help communities that cannot access funding for other matters. The Minister has an enviable record in community service and has once again demonstrated this in regard to this legislation.
I also thank the Minister for listening to our views. My party and many other people were very concerned that these dormant accounts could become a slush fund and be used in an inappropriate manner, although I am not saying they would be used inappropriately. I welcome the amendments to the Bill, which will be of significant benefit. As Senator Ó Murchú said, I look forward to seeing these dormant accounts being used for the benefit of the people who need them desperately.
When is it proposed to sit again?
At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.