Results 2,281-2,300 of 18,727 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: The interview might go badly or better.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: All I will say in response is this. If the person stays recommended, it does not matter if there is a change of Government. The new Government will get a new or different shortlist, so no harm is done if a person is recommended.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: No. My point is that if every time there is a vacancy, there is a shortlist, which is what the Minister is insisting on, all my amendment is saying is that somebody who was previously, a short period before, recommended for the job stays recommended, and as there are three on the shortlist, there will be four or five people to look at, depending on who has been discarded. In any event, I...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 92b:In page 31, lines 28 and 29, to delete “or, in the case of section 44 the Government in accordance with the provisions of this Act”. Arising from what we have just voted on, it occurs to me to point out to the Minister that even if he sticks to the principle of what we have just been discussing this afternoon, there will still be occasions where it...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: There will be occasions where the Government will appoint a member of the High Court or Supreme Court and it will also have before it a vacancy regarding another appointment for the High Court. In those circumstances, the Minister should consider introducing some kind of system whereby the Government can make two appointments from the same shortlist. It seems pointless to have to start the...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I report progress.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I agree entirely with Senator Horkan on the need to be intelligent and sensitive about the transfer of school management control.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Some of the stuff we heard on RTÉ this morning was a bit hair-raising for parents, and it was pessimistic for the process if it is going to continue like that. I also agree with the Senator on the issue of ATMs. If it is possible to insert dye destruction devices into briefcases for couriers carrying money, which contaminates the money, I cannot understand why it cannot be done in...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: -----to demand movement on this area. I seek clarification and reassurance that this is not happening now. In today's newspapers there is an account of a Fáilte Ireland spokesperson saying that we need a 1,000-bed hotel in Dublin for conferences and that we are missing out because the city does not have a mega hotel of that kind. I am sure that is correct but I wish to make a wider...

Seanad: Judicial Council Bill 2017: Committee Stage (2 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I welcome the Minister to the House and I welcome sight of this legislation. I also welcome the amendments that are being proposed on sentencing guidelines. Of course there is a difficult balance to be struck between the administration of justice, which is the prerogative of the Judiciary, and the independence of the Judiciary on the one hand, and the entitlement of the Legislature to have...

Seanad: Judicial Council Bill 2017: Committee Stage (2 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I do not want to deflect the debate too far since we are dealing with particular amendments. Senator Bacik referred to Thornton Hall. It should be built because Mountjoy Prison should be knocked down because it is wholly unsuitable. Those of us who have been to visit it-----

Seanad: Judicial Council Bill 2017: Committee Stage (2 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: Just like myself. Those of us who have been to visit it will appreciate that it is and always will be wholly unsuitable for the rehabilitation of prisoners. At least Thornton Hall would have had the advantage of having space to play football, have running tracks and so on that could give offenders a decent life. Such facilities would also help to physically rehabilitate them. The site...

Seanad: Judicial Council Bill 2017: Committee Stage (2 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I agree.

Seanad: Judicial Council Bill 2017: Committee Stage (2 Apr 2019)

Michael McDowell: I do not want to delay proceedings and I do not want to pry into matters which I perhaps should not pry into but can the Minister indicate if these amendments are broadly agreeable to the Judiciary or are they the subject of controversy?

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Michael McDowell: I would also like to raise the matter just mentioned by Senator Ardagh, that of the decision made today in respect of the MetroLink project. It appears that the National Transport Authority is now saying that the absorption of the Luas green line into the metro system will not be necessary for another 20 years, despite the fact that it was being proposed that it be commenced in the next...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Michael McDowell: I assure the Leader that I have always been an enthusiastic supporter of the Luas project. Some people who are more sensitive than me think it affects the amenity of their homes, but that does not worry me in the slightest. I live in a city and I am quite happy to live in a city.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Michael McDowell: The ineptitude of the planning of Dublin's future transport requirements is just colossal. I will finish on this point. It was planned to connect Heuston Station with Connolly Station underground by DART, but that has been shelved.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Michael McDowell: We built a tunnel under the park to get Kerry teams around to Croke Park.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Michael McDowell: An Bord Pleanála recently refused to allow Dublin City Council to build a bridge because it would interfere with that project, which has been shelved. I will finish on this point. We need an elected mayor of Dublin. We need somebody in Dublin who makes decisions and is accountable to the people for them. We need Dublin City Council to be given some function in relation to the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Mar 2019)

Michael McDowell: I express my complete agreement with what Senator Ned O’Sullivan has just said. This mean-minded capacity on the part of some critics in Ireland to criticise Ireland availing of the St. Patrick’s Day festival internationally is counterproductive, self-harming in an extraordinary way and would achieve absolutely nothing except a diminution in the profile of Ireland internationally.