Results 321-340 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: As a parliamentarian, I have found this report extremely helpful.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: At a time today when we were stuck on a particular issue, this report proved useful. I wish the record of the House to show that this is the kind of support we need as parliamentarians. It shows no support for the position taken by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. We need more of this, rather than less, and yet this is the kind of information we will not receive in future.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I am taken with the reasonable nature of what Senator Mansergh has said. Would that it were so. I thought it entirely reasonable that, to help the House, I produced a series of amendments which I saw as crucially important, given that they flowed from the view of the most important officer in this part of the work of the State. I thought they would raise reasonable issues which it would be...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Given that a new approach of reasonableness is descending on the House I would be all for it – it is the nature of the way I do business. Will Senator Mansergh support me in getting into the meat of these issues? This is crucial to the debate. I know from cruel experience that if one is seen to be easily dismissed, one will continue to be treated as a doormat. I need to make a statement...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I am saying this in answer to Senator Mansergh's request for reasonableness. I would hate to be misunderstood. It is important that we hear the Minister of State's view on the document published today by the Information Commissioner. Does he find it outrageous that the senior officer of the State should have made this available to us to facilitate debate? Does he find it outrageous that the...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Do I have to go through this again? I said the amendments were based on the assessment of the principal Act. The Senator kept saying the other and is saying it again now. Nobody other than he is saying this.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: One section does.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I would hate to let what Senator Leyden said stand unchallenged. Section 39 of the principal Act refers to what we are discussing. It reads, "The Commissioner may prepare and publish commentaries on the practical application and operation of the provisions, or any particular provisions, of this Act." We are discussing this in amending the principal Act. That it is coming in the guise of a...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Senator Minihan is entitled to his view with which I disagree. We are talking about the application of the Act and he is entitled to say what he said. I am careful, too, about the connection between the various areas of government. However, I have seen the Information Commissioner take brave steps in recent times. When dealing with the Revenue Commissioners, for example, he took a strong...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Is the Minister of State saying there is a difference between the requester and the owner?

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: That is what the Minister of State is saying. However, if it does not apply to this section and there is no difficulty, how could there have been a difficulty earlier? The name on the bottom of the letter is the person we are discussing. That is the point we made at the beginning but the Minister of State said it was not the case.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: We established that at the beginning when the Minister of State said he would not accept the definition of a person under the interpretation section of the Bill. Let us suppose the editor of a newspaper says to a journalist: "I want you to get that information for me and the newspaper." The journalist writes seeking the information and it comes to him or her from the Department. However, it...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: In other words, the Minister of State is saying it does not matter that the person was operating on behalf of a corporation or otherwise. The Minister of State will just deal with the name on the letter. That is the argument we made earlier.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: That is what we are trying to establish. Is it now owned by the person whose name is at the bottom of the letter?

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: The point is that no convincing argument is being put to answer Senator McDowell's points. If one reflects on what Senator Mansergh said about the need for certainty, accuracy and lack of ambivalence, this provision is full of shades and there is no way one can see it operating to help those who will be seeking information. It pulls another cloak over this operation and is another regressive...

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I concur with everything Senator Brian Hayes has just said. It is important to recognise that, in terms of how we do our business, as Senator Leyden said many times yesterday, this situation is unprecedented. We have found that the Government was hiding from us information issued by the Information Commissioner. The Government is opposed to that information being made available to us and we...

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: That is very helpful. Although I would have much preferred to move the motion and may do so at another time, it is crucially important for fair-minded and serious legislators and public representatives on all sides of the House to have the opportunity of stating their views as to whether we should engage in deep legislative consideration without having access to information. Undoubtedly, any...

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I know Senators on the Government side are embarrassed.

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I am sorry they are being mistreated by their manipulators.

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Mar 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I accept that. I now propose that, as No. 1, we take statements on the issue of yesterday's report from the Information Commissioner, expressing our appreciation – or otherwise – on that issue. That is my proposal. On the matter raised by the Leader in respect of major sporting events, that was one of the reasons I wanted those easily available when I raised this issue a few weeks ago. I...