Results 2,021-2,040 of 26,021 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 73: In page 56, line 16, to delete "(3) A mayoral" and substitute "(4) A mayoral".

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 74: In page 57, after line 41, to insert the following: "Amendment of European Parliament Elections Act 1997 38. The European Parliament Elections Act 1997 is amended, in subsection (5) of section 11, by— (a) the substitution, in paragraph (c), of "member of the Seanad, or" for "member of the Seanad,", and (b) the insertion of the following paragraph after...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I thank the Deputy for the amendment. I accept that it is well-intentioned and it is an interesting point. The programme for Government, Our Shared Future, contains a commitment to examine the use of posters during referendums and elections. The commitment in the programme envisages a role for the electoral commission to examine and make recommendations on the issue of the use of posters...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I wish to conclude. I presume what Deputy McAuliffe said was a generalisation. I have found officials in the Custom House to be very normal and down to earth, not bureaucrats.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Committee members will appreciate that my comments will be somewhat tempered, being a Minister of State at the Department, but the greatest critics of their posters are, as they all well know, their supporters: "Where are your posters? They are not up. Everyone else has them up." It is a wider question and I take Deputy Quinlivan's point about campaigning. It gives reassurance in a big...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 76: In page 58, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: “Amendment of Data Protection Act 2018 41.The Data Protection Act 2018 is amended— (a) in section 2, by the insertion of the following definition: “ ‘Mayor of Limerick’ has the meaning assigned to it by section 9 of the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Act...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 77: In page 58, line 36, to delete “definition” and substitute “definitions”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 78: In page 59, line 1, to delete “2023;”,” and substitute “2023;”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 79: In page 59, between lines 1 and 2, to insert the following: “ ‘plebiscite’ means a plebiscite held under Part 6 of the Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Act 2023;”,”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 80: In page 59, line 32, to delete “following paragraph” and substitute “following paragraphs”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I move amendment No. 81: In page 59, to delete line 33 and substitute the following: “ “(g) a Limerick mayoral election; (h) a plebiscite.”,”.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I propose to address amendments No. 83, 84, and 88 as they have been grouped together for discussion. I presume I am not-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: They relate to Part 6, which deals with the holding of plebiscites to consider proposals by other local authorities to provide for a directly elected mayor of their administrative area. Amendments No. 83 and 84 in the name of Deputy Cian O'Callaghan relate to the process to initiate a plebiscite proposal. Section 43 provides that a plebiscite of the electors of an administrative area may be...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I addressed it.

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: Can I address them? There are two specific points. On the corporate policy group versus the chamber itself, the vote will ultimately be taken by the chamber. Concerning process, we feel a corporate policy group is the correct one. Going back to the points raised earlier, it must be done in a structured way. There cannot be a situation in which people put down motions, for example, on the...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: This is about 10% versus 20%. There are a number of reasons, one being that the programme for Government specifies 20%. A decision was taken by the Government for it to be 20%. That alone, at this moment in time, is a decision of the Government. As a Minister of State with responsibility in this area, I have to implement that. Electoral registers also have improved and the integrity of...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The implementation advisory group, IAG, report provided a significant benefit to the process. It was detailed. I know the Deputy has issues with some of it but generally it brought a huge degree of information. We adopted many of its proposals. It is not just about speed; it is about putting something in place that works and is correct. There is nothing to stop a Minister bringing it...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: The vote in Limerick was 52% to 48%. Some 48% of the public in Limerick voted against the plebiscite. They are hugely important in our reflection on the mayoralty. It should not be a rash report; it should take that into account. We want to bring people with us. The IAG report was across all stakeholders. We must give a Minister some period of latitude. Every local authority, city or...

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: I referenced the Deputy's-----

Select Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Nov 2023)

Kieran O'Donnell: It is very-----