Results 581-600 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: I trust the Minister of State treats his human constituents rather better than the fish elements of his constituency. As Senator Phelan said, it is not just a matter of piscatorial convenience. Value for money is a serious issue and I was struck by the lengthy passage in the Minister of State's contribution on this point. Senator Phelan rightly quoted at length from the very worthy Fine Gael...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: We all agreed that it started in 1994, or possibly even earlier. The second myth is the notion that tax cuts stimulated or were responsible for the boom. In many respects, they were the product of the boom. The major income tax cuts occurred in the late 1990s and not in the early 1990s. I do not think one can claim, as the Minister of State's party does, that income tax cuts gave rise to the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: Since the House last sat, several worrying developments have occurred in the health service. On Friday, consultant members of the Irish Medical Organisation initiated industrial action for March. On Sunday, an emergency general meeting of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association also decided to ballot its members on industrial action. We cannot underestimate the importance, influence and...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages. (17 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I agree. Our official amendment has been drafted by Parliamentary Counsel and I am satisfied with the form it takes.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I was going to leave some reflections on the bigger issues until last but as Senator Maurice Hayes and others have introduced them, I will commence with them. I do not accept the general proposition that we should ask people to pay for care in the circumstances which currently operates. The current system is a typically Irish mess with several different tiers where people are asked to pay for...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: The Cathaoirleach is right. I withdraw my excessively familiar references to the Minister of State at the Department of Transport. An explanation is needed and we are entitled to hear it. Those we have heard do not ring true. It is not good enough for those involved to claim they simply forgot about it. I am concerned about curative legislation as it should be treated with great care....

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I join the other Members in wishing the Cathaoirleach and his staff a happy Christmas and a good new year. It has been an interesting session in some ways. The Leader has been extremely successful in streamlining the processes of the House. We have managed to separate the Second Stage from the Committee and Remaining Stages of Bills, something that did not always happen previously and does...

Seanad: Tributes to Head Usher of the Houses of the Oireachtas. (17 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: My first experience of Paddy was not dissimilar to that of Senator Ross. Shortly after I was elected in 1992, I remember coming to the front gate of Leinster House before the beginning of the Dáil term. I had been to Leinster House before then for Christmas parties of the Labour Party and other such functions but had never entered the place of my own right. I confess that was a wee bit...

Seanad: Tributes to Head Usher of the Houses of the Oireachtas. (17 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: He showed me where to sign and stated that he would sort me out. It was this kind of informality that marked Paddy's service in Leinster House. I, too, saw the curriculum vitae with which we have been provided and it astonished me that Paddy has been a member of staff for so long. It is somewhat strange to be speaking about Paddy almost in the past tense because I know I will see him again,...

Seanad: Tributes to Head Usher of the Houses of the Oireachtas. (17 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I also encounter him very occasionally in St. Vincent's GAA club. Paddy has been a true friend to us all. There is an obvious warmth to the genuine tributes we have heard this morning. We are all grateful for the assistance Paddy has given us over the years. Senator Brian Hayes is right in saying that this is also the case in respect of the other ushers. In all my time in the House, I never...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: As I am conscious we are running short of time, I will ask a short question arising from what Senator Morrissey mentioned. Does legal provision exist for the clamping of vehicles in private car parks?

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Does that mean it is extra-legal or illegal?

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: The Minister of State will be aware of at least one example of a supermarket, not too far from where he has his constituency office and where I live, that provides for clamping in its car park. Without legal provision for taking action, it seems to be at least borderline doubtful as to whether the owners of that car park should be doing so. It should be necessary to have legal authority...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I am not sure I agree with Senator Paddy Burke on this matter. The section is a response — or at least a partial response — to the provision of so-called "company cars" to young people. This phenomenon has been a real scourge in some communities where unscrupulous dealers or individuals who just happen to possess cars have sometimes given or sold them to under age children who drive them...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: How does amendment No. 6 stand as regards Report Stage? Can it be re-entered?

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I asked a question last week on Second Stage but if the Minister of State responded I was not here and apologise. Is it possible to make special provision for speed limits in bad weather, especially for motorways? It is a standard provision in mainland Europe that the speed limit is lower in those circumstances.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I do not understand aspects of this section, which provides for transitional arrangements. Subsection (1) is clear, but I read subsections (2) and (3) several times and am not entirely sure what they mean. If a local authority is slow to replace particular signs, so they still show miles per hour, does that mean the old speed limit still applies rather than the new limit? Alternatively, does...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: If I find some old signs on 20 or 21 January, how much will the Department pay me?

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I do not wish to sound too cynical, but it has been 25 years or so since the decision was taken in principle to change signage to metric. We still have not done so in most parts of the country. It will be a logistical nightmare to replace tens of thousands of signs within three days. Assuming we do not succeed in replacing them all, what will be the status of the old signs after 20 January?

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Each and every one of them?