Written Answers. - Ministerial Attendance at Fundraisers.
Desmond J. O'Malley
Ceist:
41
Mr. O'Malley
asked the
Minister for Finance
if he will attend fund-raising functions for the Labour Party at which the Finance Bill will be discussed and to which non-members of the Party will be invited to convey their views to him on the Finance Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5548/96]
Liz O'Donnell
Ceist:
51
Ms O'Donnell
asked the
Minister for Finance
if he will attend fund-raising functions for the Labour Party at which the Finance Bill will be discussed and to which non-members of the Party will be invited to convey their views to him on the Finance Bill; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[5549/96]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 41 and 51 together.
The Government has introduced legislation, the Electoral Bill, which will provide funding for political parties. That Bill has not yet been enacted, and so, as a senior office holder in my party, I am committed to playing my part in the essential task of political fund-raising.
While I have been dismayed by the hypocrisy displayed by the Progressive Democrats on the issue of fund raising by political parties I have been outraged and offended by the misinformation and libellous suggestions and innuendo made by members of that party in relation to my role as Finance Minister.
I particularly reject the suggestion made by Deputy Molloy, that people who attend such a function, could purchase an amendment to the Finance Bill. This is a contemptuous comment but Deputy Molloy once made a similar comment about another Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and paid a heavy political price. The date of this function was deliberately selected so that it would be after the Government had made its final decisions in relation to the Finance Bill.
Since taking up office as Minister for Finance I have continued the process, which I began as Minister for Enterprise and Employment in the last Government, of holding breakfast meetings on a weekly basis with individuals from the business, financial, trade union, commercial, academic and industrial sectors, to listen to their views on whatever issues they believe are of concern and-or relevant to me in my role as Minister. To date, as Finance Minister alone, I have met and spoken with over 108 people in that context.
I also personally conduct clinics in my constitutency twice a week where individuals from every sector of the community, including those already mentioned, can meet me to appraise me of their concerns, views or proposals in relation to issues relevant to both my role as public representative and as Minister. To suggest, as some have attempted to do, that the public is denied access to me is false and I believe, for any public representative to deny access to his or her electorate would be suicidal in career terms. In addition to these regular meetings with the public I attend a large number of functions in my capacity as Minister for Finance where I would discuss a wide range of issues, particularly those of concern to the business and financial community.
Another fallacy that has been propounded in the last number of days has been in relation to pre-budget submissions. To make the process of formal pre-budget submissions by representative organisations more meaningful and informative for all concerned, I proposed in this year's Budget Statement that, in future, these groups and organisations would make their presentations to the Finance and General Affairs Committee of the Dáil where there could be a full and frank debate on all the issues. The situation that has pertained to date, where the organisation concerned simply presented their submission, which had already been published in the media, to the Minister of that day without real debate, was of little benefit to the proper evaluation of the proposals involved. However, at no stage did I attempt to propose that I would not continue to meet with people in the various ways I have described earlier, to hear proposals they might have on budgetary or other issues. Nor have I suggested that I would refuse to accept written submissions from anyone on these matters. In fact, in relation to the Finance Bill itself, I have taken an initiative this year to make the process of preparation of the Finance Bill the most open and transparent in the history of the State. As indicated in my Budget Statement, I recently published a preliminary list of items to be contained in the forthcoming Bill in order to maximise the amount of public consultation in advance of publication. I also published last week the draft text of measures for the Bill dealing with consolidation which will prepare the way for next year's Taxes Consolidation Bill.
Drafting of the Finance Bill is now well advanced and following Government approval, will be published by the end of March. In addition to the views of Members, there have been and will no doubt be, many representations from interested members of the public. These are all given a fair evaluation—from whatever quarter they come — but I can give no guarantee that any suggestion will be accepted.
Finally, as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party and the first Labour Party Minister for Finance, I am happy to attend fund raising functions for the party when requested and available to do so.
It is not possible to say in advance, with any degree of certainty, that topics will be discussed at such functions. However, I expect that issues of current public import or matters relating to my role as Minister for Finance may arise in any discussions that take place.
