Results 201-220 of 11,433 for speaker:Michael Kitt

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (7 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him particularly for bringing forward this Bill to establish on a statutory footing the Commission on Electronic Voting. This is very important because it has reported on this issue and will no doubt make other reports. The overall conclusion on page 22 of the report is interesting. The commission states that having regard to the issues that it...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (11 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: The Senator should ask Senator Finucane.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I agree with the Minister of State's comment that we must await the commission's next report. The commission reported favourably on the use of electronic voting. Like Senator Quinn, I support electronic voting, particularly for reasons of accuracy in the vote and the counting of votes in elections. In response to Senator Bannon's point about obtaining different results, this is one of the...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I join Members in complimenting the Joint Committee on the Environment and Local Government which has done a fine job in discussing this issue. I agree with Senator Quinn that this amendment requires a great deal of tidying up before we could agree to it. It fails to refer to Seanad Éireann. While have a Technical Group consisting of smaller parties and Independents, there are different...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: Senator Bannon has made his point on the former leader of Fine Gael, Deputy John Bruton, twice today. The Deputy was a candidate in the Meath constituency, where electronic voting was used in the last election. Contrary to what Senator Bannon is saying, the Deputy has been very supportive of electronic voting and urged people to vote. Let us return to the question of accuracy. During the last...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (11 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I am interested in Senator Bannon's point. However, the main difficulty for all candidates at election time is one of securing the deposit, in particular for European elections for which the deposit is high. I welcome the abolition, by way of court challenge, of the requirement to have a deposit. On Senator Bannon's point, this matter has already been tested in the courts. Perhaps this issue...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: The issue, to which the Minister of State referred last night, of two systems giving different results is a serious one. During the debate on Second Stage it was made clear that many errors had occurred in the manual voting system. Seats have changed hands on a margin of fewer than 50 votes. Electronic voting will eliminate inadvertent voting errors. There are people, obviously, who want the...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: A printout is not necessary. One can look at one's balance on the screen.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: The Senator is too well off. It is the balance that is important, not the receipt.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: The non-random way, as Senator Finucane described it, is the best way to go and should be considered. It is probably irrelevant in the context of elections on 11 June but the software is there for the future, when we will have electronic voting, and we should look at the non-random provision. I have fought ten general elections and I know well how unfair the system can be, particularly with...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: There are no votes in that sort of stick.

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: A report last week on the incidence of radon gas highlighted Castleisland but in many parts of the west there has been a very high incidence, causing up to 300 deaths per year. In the absence of new legislation in this area will the Leader inquire if there is a possibility of grants being restored to protect people from this radioactive gas? The Department of Education and Science spent a...

Seanad: Autism Services: Statements (Resumed). (19 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I am optimistic that children with autism can go to their local schools. One of the greatest problems facing us in the west is that there has been a long battle for services for autism usually involving child care services for young children and school transport to schools where the health board or...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I join Senator Mansergh in welcoming the announcement of approval for a rail link from Mallow to Cork to Midleton I hope a similar announcement will soon be made with regard to the western rail corridor.

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: In view of the dreadful gridlock on the N17 from Claremorris to Tuam and Galway, it is urgent that decision is taken. I pay tribute to the Leader for her work in setting up a study group on the issue. I request a debate on waste management in view of the fact that private groups are making applications for landfills at a time when local authorities have drawn up very good plans for waste...

Seanad: Middle East Conflict: Statements. (26 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I welcome the Minister of State. I am disappointed and saddened by what is happening in Iraq. I am not as hopeful as Senator Minihan about the progress in Iraq, although I realise progress has been made in the area of education. I visited Iraq 15 months ago and I try to keep in contact with Iraqi people here who tell me about the circumstances of their families in Iraq. There is a major...

Seanad: Housing Provisions: Motion. (26 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: One can get into the Galway races for €15 via the normal entrance.

Seanad: Housing Provisions: Motion. (26 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: I move amendment No. 1: "To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following: "acknowledges the achievements of the Government in —increasing housing supply as the key response to the broad range of housing needs and demand; —achieving the 9th successive year of record housing completions involving the addition of 68,819 new houses in Ireland in 2004; —continuing to...

Seanad: Housing Provisions: Motion. (26 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: It was the Labour Party's fault.

Seanad: Housing Provisions: Motion. (26 May 2004)

Michael Kitt: The Government spent €7.5 million on services for the disabled.