Results 12,981-13,000 of 13,224 for speaker:Pat Gallagher

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As it is currently worded, section 48 requires the Minister to consult "any Minister of the Government" that he or she considers to be relevant before he or she makes regulations "requiring water services authorities or other persons prescribed" to undertake specified consultation in the course of the exercise of their functions. If I accept the amendment, the section will require the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 50 enables a water services authority to enter into an agreement with any person to provide water services, subject to planning permission requirements. Such an agreement can be reached with a view to the subsequent transfer of ownership of the infrastructure from the person in question to the water services authority. The amendment proposes to restrict the requirement to take...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 50 enables a water services authority to enter into an agreement with any person to provide water service infrastructure, with a view to that person subsequently transferring ownership to the authority. Therefore, the agreement to which Senator Bannon referred does not relate directly to the discharge of its functions per se by a water services authority. On the other hand, the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I understand the intent behind the three amendments under consideration and readily agree that in a modern society every person should have access to a safe water supply. However, I am concerned that the approach suggested could lead to an impossible burden being placed on water services authorities regarding the performance of their function under the Water Services Act. If accepted, these...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The purpose of these amendments is to apply relevant functions under the Bill to the public private partnership partners of authorised water services providers. In all of the provisions identified, the relevant functions currently apply only to a water services authority, an authorised provider of water services, in effect a group water services scheme, or somebody acting jointly with or on...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The purpose of this amendment is to enable regulations under section 32(2) and (3), in regard to the provision of water services, to provide additionally for measures necessary to protect public health and the environment. It is possible that existing provisions for regulations at section 32(3)(b), on duties of persons providing water services, and section 32(3)(e), on performance standards...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This is merely a technical amendment for consistency with the rest of the Bill.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The change suggested by Senator McCarthy to the wording of subsection (3) brings an additional increment of clarity to it and removes any possible difficulty of interpretation. I am happy to recommend acceptance of the amendment.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The purpose in providing that the making of water services strategic plans is an executive function and not a reserve function, as suggested in the amendment, is to draw a clear distinction between the various strands of the strategic planning process for water services. It will ensure that input into each is provided at the appropriate stage and as part of the overall planning and...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Senator McCarthy raises an important point. Many of us have come through the council system and it is not the intention to remove power from councillors. It is not a question of their having no input, they will have a major input. The manager must have regard to the relevant county development plans and the regional or spatial planning guidelines, whether housing strategies, special amenity...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment. Section 36(9) enables the Minister to make regulations to prescribe detailed procedural arrangements for making water service strategy plans, including arrangements for public consultation and notification during the course of their preparation. Deletion of the word "public" in line 15 is a precautionary measure for the avoidance of any doubt that the Minister's...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As amendment No. 168 is consequential, I will first address the substantive issue in amendment No. 64. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure consumers of water services provided by sanitary authorities prior to enactment of the Bill will continue to receive such services from their water services authorities after enactment unless the Minister approves a water services strategic plan...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Amendments Nos. 65, 66, 68, 70 and 71 have several aspects which arise from a series of amendments to the definitions of water services and infrastructure in section 2. Amendment No. 65 inserts a definition of 'pipes' for the purposes of the section. The amendment arises from the series of amendments in section 2 to streamline and clarify the distinction between drains, sewers, water mains,...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 42 enables a water services authority to require that a premises in its functional area be connected to its waterworks or waste water works located nearby subject to the right of appeal to the District Court. Subsection (4) expands these powers to enable a water services authority to require a premises to be connected to the services of its contracted agent or that of an authorised...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The provision in section 42(5) is based on section 8(7) of the Local Government Sanitary Services Act 1962, which is being repealed and consolidated into this Bill. Subsection (5) enables a person who has been directed to connect his or her premises to a waterworks or waste water works to appeal that direction to the Circuit Court. The intention behind providing that no further appeal is...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Amendment No. 27 is consequential on amendment No. 107, so I will first deal with the substantive amendment. Amendment No. 107 expands the scope of the original section 61 to include, in addition to prohibiting the unauthorised connection of a premises to waste water services, an explicit prohibition on discharging anything into a sewer without the permission of the relevant water services...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As we are discussing amendments Nos. 28 and 170 together and as amendment No. 170 is the substantive amendment I will deal with it first. The purpose of the new section introduced by amendment No. 170 is to prohibit building over another person's water pipes without the consent of the relevant water services authority. It applies to building over water mains, sewers, distribution systems,...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: These amendments reduce from 12 months to six months the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed following conviction for a summary offence under the Act. The six months maximum term of imprisonment is in line with standard practice in all modern legislation. A 12 month sentence is considered to be outside the scope of summary jurisdiction.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: While I am aware Senator Bannon tabled this amendment in good faith, it is necessary to flesh out the matter. There are a number of situations whereby an offence committed may not come to light for some time. An example is damage caused by a breach of a duty of care regarding a discharge or damage caused to a pipe during building works which may not become apparent until some time after the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I have studied the amendment and appreciate the point Senator Bannon makes. I have consulted on the matter with the Office of the Attorney General. The purpose of subsection (3) is to remove any doubt as to the power of the Minister to amend or revoke a scheme of financial assistance. It is unnecessary to insert such a provision regarding the amendment or revocation of regulations as the...