Results 13,101-13,120 of 13,224 for speaker:Pat Gallagher

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The EU directive which sets down the requirements in this area specifies that resident EU citizens wishing to vote in their member states of residence must certify their nationality, address and any other details required. The EU directive states they must do this by way of a formal declaration which, if inaccurate, makes the person concerned liable to penalties in accordance with the new...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I take it the Senator is outlining Fine Gael policy. If Senator Bannon takes this view, I presume it is also the view of Senator Higgins, Ms Madeleine Taylor-Quinn and Deputy Coveney. However, the formulation of Fine Gael policy is not a matter for me.

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: If that is the Senator's view, so be it. As I stated last week, the effect of this amendment would be that the temporary derogation for Members of the Oireachtas who stand as candidates in the European Parliament elections next June to hold a dual mandate until the next general election to both Houses would not apply. The derogation negotiated during discussions from 1998 to 2002 allowed for...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: At that time, 13 of the 15 Members elected had a dual mandate. Many of those Members were returned in June 1981 to serve in Government — a majority of those may have been from the Labour Party but I am simply making a point. While we have come a long way since then, I do not think anybody in this House would suggest that to have Members running for Europe would necessarily destabilise a...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I have no information about the commission's recommendations other than what was set out in the report. I am in the same position as every other Member. In preparing the Bill, the Government formed the view that the commission's recommendations constituted a package and that we would accept or reject it in its entirety. We have accepted it, as successive Governments have done since the...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I do not envisage any great difficulty with this proposal, which is a reasonable one. I am sure Members on both sides of the House would like to retain the names of the provinces in the constituencies, but such a proposal must be realistic, practical and take into consideration the terms of reference that were given to the commission in 1997. While it might not be a main issue, if we were to...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As I stated on Committee Stage in the Dáil, I consulted the Parliamentary Counsel on the need for this amendment and was advised it is not necessary. In those circumstances, the Senator might consider withdrawing his amendment.

Seanad: Planning Issues. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I thank Senator Tuffy for raising this issue. In August 2000, the European Commission advised Ireland that it had received a complaint that a fee for the making of a submission on a planning application would restrict citizens' rights to participate in development consent procedures and was contrary to the public participation provisions of the environmental impact assessment directive and...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Amendment No. 1 seeks to define 'Act of 1992', 'Act of 1997' and 'Minister'. The amendment is unnecessary as the Minister is defined in section 2 of the Electoral Act 1992 and in section 2 of the 1997 Act, which is being amended. The addition of the words "Electoral Act 1992" is unnecessary as section 6 the Bill is cited together with the European Parliament Elections Act 1992-2003 and they...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I am sure everyone thought about the possibility of changing name by deed poll from time to time in order that they might appear further up the ballot paper. That is just not possible. I tried to have the returning officer in Connacht-Ulster accept my name as Cope Gallagher but he did not do so. I appreciated his decision because my name appears as Gallagher on my birth certificate. Even if a...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: We will examine the matter but without making a commitment on it. Senator Brian Hayes knows what I mean by that. If parties or individuals wish to make submissions to me, I will gladly consider them. I was being somewhat facetious when I referred to the Seanad election and Senator Brian Hayes used the word "discerning" about the electorate. I am sure no Senator would tell me in all honesty...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The Senator might tell me the first preference, but he would not go down the list. Within the relevant constituency, a candidate must have the signatures of 60 people to take part in a European election, 30 for the Dáil and 15 for a local election. That is the provision in law. I will not say much about it because, as Senators probably know, the Cian Cooney case is before the courts.

Motor Vehicle (Duties and Licences) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The primary purpose of the Bill is to give legislative form to the increases in motor tax rates and trade plate licences which were contained in the financial resolution on motor tax passed by the Dáil on 25 November 2003. The resolution and the Bill provide for a standard 5% across the board increase on motor tax on all classes of vehicle....

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I thank all the Senators who took part in the debate. I will not be drawn into responding to the issue of electronic voting to which only one Member referred because we had a very comprehensive debate yesterday by way of statements. There may be other opportunities to discuss it in the future. This Bill deals specifically with the implementation of the constituency commission report of 2003...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Yes and that is sensible.

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I have not seen any of the major parties trying to remove an Independent or an Independent representing a group from the council by way of vote in many years. The position is the same for a Member of the Oireachtas. However, under the Local Government Acts, a Member of an Oireachtas or an MEP cannot stand as a candidate at a local election. As Senator Brennan is aware, that matter is...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: A person can stand for both, but he or she must choose one.

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: We are trying to resolve that.

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: On the one hand, we do not favour the dual mandate at national and local authority level, yet we favour the derogation for practical purposes. Only two countries secured a derogation — Ireland and the UK — with specific reference to Northern Ireland. This would not have been necessary had the intentions of two sitting members of the European Parliament, Dr. Paisley and Mr. Hume, been...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2004)

Pat Gallagher: It is fairly well understood that the three counties of Ulster comprise the Ulster constituency. While I appreciate the Acting Chairman has a view on this, I ask Members to remember there is a legal requirement for the adoption of this legislation two months before the effective date for enlargement, which gives us until the end of February. I would not be honest if I were to say I would...