Results 2,001-2,020 of 11,861 for speaker:Brian Hayes

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: We have not started Committee Stage.

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: Are they Government amendments?

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: Government is the issue.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: I move amendment No. 1: In page 4, subsection (2), lines 37 and 38, to delete "the recommendation of the Government." and substitute the following: "(a) the nomination of the Government, and (b) the passage of resolutions by Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann recommending the appointment.". I congratulate the Minister for Defence on his appointment. Just as the Minister was reshuffled, I have...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: Not at all.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: I appreciate the Minister's argument against the amendment. His suggestion is, in effect, that this appointment follows the same route as that of the Chief of Staff and we should accept it. However, the job description of the Defence Forces ombudsman is different, a point which goes to the heart of other proposed amendments which deal with the remit of the ombudsman. While I understand the...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, subsection (5), to delete from and including "such" in line 10, down to an including "exceed" in line 11. Amendments Nos. 2 and 3 relate to the appointment of the ombudsman. The purpose of amendment No. 2 is to ensure the ombudsman is appointed for a fixed term, not for a shorter term for political expediency or as a damage limitation exercise. In the case...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: The instrument is not in the legislation. It will follow the legislation. The Minister will have the power, under his seal of office, to introduce the instrument once the Bill is signed by the President. He has already confirmed regarding the term "not exceeding" that it is conceivable under the legislation, when it is in place, that the Government could appoint someone for a five-year...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: We are paid to be suspicious.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: When the Bill is passed, what will be the modus operandi for finding candidates and when does the Minister envisage an appointment being made?

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: Only if it was a seven-year appointment.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: I understand there is no bar on persons from other jurisdictions with expertise in this area applying for the post, similar to the Canadian model.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: I move amendment No. 4: In page 7, between lines 4 and 5, to insert the following new subsection: "(3) The Ombudsman may, if it appears to it desirable in the public interest to do so and without receiving a complaint, investigate any matter that appears to it to indicate that a member of the Defence Forces may have— (a) committed an offence, or (b) behaved in a manner that would justify...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: I thank Senator Minihan for his intervention but I understand the distinction between military law and the civil code. That is not really what this amendment is about. I also welcome the comments made by Senator Maurice Hayes. What about the situation which existed in a number of barracks in Northern Ireland and England some years ago where particular practices of harassment were taking place...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: I do not have any further knowledge on it.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: Every profession is different.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: If it were possible I would propose an amendment on the floor. I am only now seeing the limitations of the amendment. An amended version of section 4(3) could read: "The Ombudsman may, if it appears desirable in the public interest to do so and without receiving a complaint, investigate any matter that is brought to his attention." That gives full power to the ombudsman to decide what he...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: That is important because he is coming from a totally different perspective. I want to make one point and I may be way off the mark in saying this but when I speak to non-commissioned officers in my constituency, they tell of the upstairs-downstairs attitude that exists. That is part of the problem. People with authority have to use it in a very firm way to ensure discipline, and all the...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: And myself.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Defence Forces) Bill 2002: Committee Stage. (13 Oct 2004)

Brian Hayes: The Duke of Wellington would not have had an ombudsman.