I move:
(1) That it is expedient that a Joint Committee (which shall be called the Joint Committee on State-sponsored Bodies) consisting of seven members of the Dáil and four members of the Seanad (none of whom shall be a member of the Government or a Minister of State) be appointed to examine the Reports and Accounts and overall operational results of State-sponsored bodies engaged in trading or commercial activities referred to in Schedule A hereto and the trading and/or commercial aspects of the Reports and Accounts and overall operational results of the State-sponsored body referred to in Schedule B hereto and to report thereon to both Houses of the Óireachtas and make recommendations where appropriate.
(2) That, after consultation with the Joint Committee, the Minister for the Public Service with the agreement of the Minister for Finance may include from time to time the names of further State-sponsored bodies engaged in trading or commercial activities in the Schedules and, with the consent of the Joint Committee and the Minister for Finance, may delete from the Schedules the names of any bodies which he considers no longer to be State-sponsored bodies engaged in trading or commercial activities.
(3) That, if so requested by a State-sponsored body, the Joint Committee shall refrain from publishing confidential information regarding the body's activities and plans.
(4) That the Joint Committee shall have power to send for persons, papers and records and, subject to the consent of the Minister for the Public Service, to engage the services of persons with specialist or technical knowledge to assist it for the purpose of particular enquiries.
(5) That the Joint Committee, previous to the commencement of business, shall elect one of its members to be Chairman, who shall have only one vote.
(6) That all questions in the Joint Committee shall be determined by a majority of votes of the members present and voting and in the event of there being an equality of votes the question shall be decided in the negative.
(7) That the Joint Committee shall have power to print and publish from time to time minutes of evidence taken before it together with such related documents as it thinks fit.
(8) That every report which the Joint Committee proposes to make under this Order shall on adoption by the Joint Committee be laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas forthwith whereupon the Joint Committee shall be empowered to print and publish such report together with such related documents as it thinks fit.
(9) That four members of the Joint Committee shall form a Quorum of whom at least one shall be a member of Dáil Éireann and at least one shall be a member of Seanad Éireann.
Schedule A
Aer Lingus, Teoranta
Aerlinte Éireann, Teoranta
Aer Rianta, Teoranta
The Agricultural Credit Corporation Limited
Arramara Teoranta
Bord na Móna
British & Irish Steam Packet Company Limited
Ceimicí, Teoranta
Comhlucht Siúicre Éireann, Teoranta
Córas Iompair Éireann
Electricity Supply Board
Fóir Teoranta
Industrial Credit Company, Limited
The Irish Gas Board
Irish Life Assurance Company Limited
The Irish National Petroleum Corporation Limited
The Irish National Stud Company, Limited
Irish Shipping Limited
Irish Steel Holdings Limited
Min Fhéir (1959) Teoranta
National Building Agency Limited
Nítrigin Éireann Teoranta
Óstlanna Iompair Éireann Teoranta
Radio Telefís Éireann
Voluntary Health Insurance Board.
Schedule B
Údarás na Gaeltachta.
The motion before the House proposes the re-establishment of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on State-sponsored Bodies. Deputies will be well aware of the impact which the committee have made since their establishment. The number of reports published by the committee now stands at 18. Given the heavy demands on the time of members, this is a considerable achievement, particularly when one considers the high quality of discussion and analysis in the reports and the amount of detail they have gone into.
The Government believe that it is necessary now more than ever in these difficult times for our economy that the operations of companies in the public sector should be looked at objectively and critically by the elected representatives of the real shareholders, the Irish public. This necessary scrutiny will, I am sure, be undertaken, as in the past, in a constructive and understanding spirit.
The boards, executives and employees of the commercial bodies will now be familiar with the work of the joint committee and will, I feel confident, accept that the efforts of the committee are bent in the same direction as their own: towards an effective, efficient, employment-generating public sector. Indeed the dialogue between representatives of State bodies and members of the committee may be seen as affording those bodies a unique opportunity to explain their operations and problems to public representatives in a public forum in a far more direct and forceful way than is possible in the cold prose and statistical columns of an annual report.
This in turn makes possible more informed public discussion and debate which should help to avert the negative effect on morale within public bodies of ill-informed criticism. Too often, perhaps, it is forgotten that some State-sponsored bodies which we classify as commercial are required nevertheless to provide services which a private company would close down as unprofitable. Due regard must be had to this social element in the operations of certain bodies and the studies by the joint committee should help to highlight cases where unprofitability is genuinely a result of providing socially essential services.
On the other occasions on which motions have been debated to establish the joint committee, my predecessors have taken the opportunity to pay tribute to the enormous contribution which has been made by the various State-sponsored bodies over the years. In doing likewise, I hope that I will not be accused of merely observing a ritual. Over the half century and more since the first State-sponsored bodies were founded, State enterprise has spread into many sectors and manifested itself in many forms. A strong State sector has undoubtedly contributed to stability both in terms of employment and output. The Government recognise the importance of this contribution to our national well being which comes about through the dedication of the many able men and women who serve in the State sector. Some of the bodies in which they work are very much in the public eye, others — some of them notable success stories — are less well known. Perhaps the work of the joint committee will in time rectify the position in relation to these. Where faults are found, as they are bound to be, it is ultimately in the interest of all that these be recognised and put right.
The only changes proposed from the previous Orders of Reference are to the Schedules listing the bodies to be examined: a new body, the Irish National Petroleum Corporation, has been included for the first time and Gaeltarra Éireann has been replaced by Údarás na Gaeltachta. Because of major changes in their role in recent years arising from a ruling by the European Court, the Pigs and Bacon Commission cannot as matters stand be regarded as a commercial State-sponsored body, and for this reason has been deleted from the schedule.
I will not take up much more of the House's time. The motion would essentially restore the position which existed in relation to the joint committee before the dissolution of the 21st Dáil. The matter has, therefore, been the subject of debate and discussion in both Houses on a number of occasions in the past and I believe that there is a broad consensus favourable to the continuance of the committee's work. This is as it should be for, irrespective of our party allegiances or independence of such allegiance, we are all parliamentarians committed to the strengthening of parliamentary institutions. The joint committee was first established to fill a gap in the relationship of a part of the public service to the Oireachtas and, as I said in my opening remarks, it has been a notably successful innovation. We should now take the necessary steps to allow the committee to get on with its work.