Results 6,241-6,260 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Written Answers — Drug Seizures: Drug Seizures (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities that the following table shows the drugs seized, by type, quantity and approximate street value for the years 2005 and 2006 for Gorey Garda District, which includes the area of Arklow. Garda Drug Seizures — Gorey Garda District 2005-2006 Drug Type Quantity Estimated Street Value € 2006 * Amphetamine 706.782 grams 10,616 Cannabis...

Written Answers — Road Traffic Offences: Road Traffic Offences (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities that housing estates not yet taken in charge by local authorities are a public place for the purpose of enforcement of road traffic legislation. The taking in charge by the local authority of estates is not a prerequisite for the prosecution of offences under road traffic legislation. I am further informed that offences which are contingent on...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: Under my Department's Decentralisation Programme, around nine hundred posts are scheduled to transfer from twelve agencies to seven locations around the country. To date, one hundred and thirteen civil servants from within my Department have been re-assigned to provincial locations. By the second half of this year, we will have a presence in all seven locations when over four hundred posts...

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: Legislative reform in this area might then include a civil registration scheme alongside the contract and redress models recommended in the Law Reform Commission report. The working group and the Law Reform Commission suggest that such an approach would allow cohabitants either to opt-in to a set of rights and duties towards each other and attain a formal and public status or make a...

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: I have asked and I have discovered what is the situation.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: I do not believe we should walk the road of saying, "We know best; this is the way to run a gay relationship". The only State recognition available for a gay relationship is if it is on the same basis as marriage. That is not fair to gay and lesbian people, and is highly unrealistic.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy should listen.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: Will the Deputy stop heckling? He has been heckling and speaking for over an hour. He should keep quiet.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: It is not fair to say to gay and lesbian people that only one model of State recognition is available, namely, that one must take on all the incidents of marriage. It is not fair to say to heterosexual cohabiting couples that the only basis on which they can be recognised is if they enter into a marriage equivalent.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: It is not right to say to people who have a non-sexual relationship and who want to give next-of-kin rights to each other, or who want to be recognised for those purposes, that they can have no support from the State unless they decide to also take on the incidents of marriage.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: Those are not fair propositions. The Deputy has not thought this through.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: Some couples may prefer a form of civil partnership which protects certain rights of importance to them but which may not have the full set of legal implications of marriage. I want to do something for them.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: We are working on it.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: While Deputies may find it funny, we are working on it. Of course I acknowledge that many same-sex couples seek full equal status with opposite-sex couples by having the option of marriage extended to them. I respect that ambition but legislative reform is possible only to the extent permitted by the Constitution. On the question of constitutional reform — I want this point made as a...

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: Equally, the Irish Human Rights Commission-commissioned report on the rights of de facto couples offers the view that, while desirable to anchor any future legislation in this area, constitutional reform is not prescribed under our international obligations. My view is that it is beneficial for those in cohabiting relationships, and for society, to provide a legal framework of recognition...

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: An opposite-sex couple may want to stay outside the legal marital relationship but may nevertheless want to create some mutually enforceable rights and obligations in their dealings with each other and with society in general. On the other hand, as the law stands, gay and lesbian couples are excluded from marriage and cannot make a full legal and social commitment to each other. Just like...

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: It says nothing with regard to non-sexual relationships. It turns its back on the concept of civil partnership and states that there should be only civil unions for gay and lesbian people, and then deals with the matter in what I believe is an unconstitutional way. Rather than suggest the Bill is the answer to all our questions, which I do not believe it is——

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: It is seriously flawed but I am not making that point. I am not nit-picking. I am suggesting there are serious strategic errors in the Bill and its orientation, if I may use that phrase with regard to it. Let us all sit down and spend the time needed to get this right. There is no rush to get it right before the election. It is far better to put in place a decent law, even if it takes...

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: It is. A series of things are wrong with it.

Civil Unions Bill 2006: Second Stage (20 Feb 2007)

Michael McDowell: I will. For example, the Deputy attempts to decide the Zappone case in section 5.