Results 281-300 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment. I cannot help but remark that the Minister is giving the Information Commissioner short shrift today. We thought we would give him one more opportunity to accept some of the amendments the commissioner suggested to his Department a few months ago. This amendment strikes me as being technical and one which the Minister may wish to consider seriously.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment, which deals with two issues that merit discussion. The first of these is the issue of costing proposals made by political parties. I do not doubt that the Minister had me in mind when drafting this section and wanted to offer some protection. I will politely decline that protection. I am not living in trepidation about anything that may be disclosed in the coming weeks...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment. It would be useful if the Minister took this opportunity to say what regime he intends to put in place. This is an enabling section, allowing the Minister to make regulations providing for fees. It would facilitate debate here and in the other House if the Minister could let us know what regime he envisages.

Seanad: Foreign Conflicts: Motion. (21 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I second the amendment. Amendment put. Tá

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: In regard to the Order of Business, it is remarkable that we are seeking to progress through the House within a matter of a few hours today and tomorrow the two most important Bills which come before the Oireachtas annually. The Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and the Finance Bill are extremely detailed, complex and lengthy and it is staggering that the Leader thinks we have...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: That is a nice idea.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I join other Members in welcoming the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Callely, to the House. I am opposed to this Bill for many of the reasons Senator Ross appears to support it. That will hardly come as a surprise to anybody, certainly not to Senator Ross. I will take a couple of minutes to refute some of the points the Senator made as I suspect the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: Borrow for capital purposes.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: It would beat half an hour in Ardee, would it not?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: The Minister has expertise in this matter.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Second Stage. (25 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: The Senator is showing his age.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I move recommendation No. 3: In page 13, before section 1, to insert the following new section: 1.–In respect of the year of assessment 2003 and subsequent years of assessment, section 461 of the Principal Act is amended by substituting '€2,000' for '€1,250'.". I did not move recommendations Nos. 1 and 2 because the intended effect of all four recommendations is to remove the minimum...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: I have been over this territory many times and am not sure I have the energy to do so again but I will try. Shortly after the 1997 election the removal of the minimum wage from the tax net did become part of Government policy. It was restated in the programme for the millennium and restated again last year as Fianna Fáil policy. It is again in the draft of the Sustaining Progress programme...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: That should be done through the social contribution or PRSI system rather than the taxation system. I feel the freedom to say in this House that it would not trouble me if, for example, we looked at the exemption from PRSI or at the €100 threshold in PRSI. However, we should not take income tax from people on the minimum wage. That is the purpose of the recommendations.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2003 [ Certified Money Bill ] : Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Mar 2003)

Derek McDowell: The Minister said he would not increase tax rates.