Results 4,921-4,940 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The reference to the Road Traffic Act 1994 is set out in full in section 12 of the Bill. The expression "the Act of 1994" is not used. Section 12 provides that the section be cited together with the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2006 as the Road Traffic Acts 1961 to 2007. Section 12 is drafted as a stand-alone section to be cited with the Road Traffic Acts. It is not necessary and I do not...

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I do not know if I can add much to what I have already said on this. The position is as I outlined it. I will not do anything. I believe the Road Traffic Acts are the most litigated set of laws in the country. The best advice I have is to follow the route I am taking. A garda can now carry out a random breath test at the scene of an accident if he feels it is necessary.

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: There may be times when more urgent things need to be done, such as saving someone's life. Nobody in this House would be forgiven for passing a law that stated a garda had to start taking——

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Let us have a serious debate. A mandatory test means that the garda must do it, no matter what the circumstances. Let us call a spade a spade.

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: That is provided for in the Bill.

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: It is provided for in the legislation.

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I have dealt with the amendments in detail. I am three or four weeks in the job. I will be looking at road safety Bills for the future and I will be mindful of the advice I receive. The best advice I have received at the moment is that this is as far as we can go.

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I understand the intent of the Deputy to try to reflect the fact that the functions and name of the Department of Transport are to change. However, the alterations to the name of the Department and to the title of the Minister, as well as the associated transfer of departmental administration and ministerial functions, have yet to be formally made. It will take place as soon as is...

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I am responsible for the same marine functions as my predecessor.

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: The ports.

Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: This is a hardy annual which Deputies on the other side of the House have raised on many occasions. I raised it when I was on the other side of the House. It is amazing the way things change when one switches around in here. There is some confusion about the terms "accountability" and "responsibility". Members sometimes complain about not having certain powers — they claim they are not...

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I would not like to think that anything I said earlier would amount to an accusation that Members were misusing the committee system. The correction made by Deputy Olivia Mitchell that Members were not using it properly is probably more accurate and reflects what I was trying to say. There is nothing to stop members of committees ordering their business so that agencies such as the NRA or...

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: However, if I was on that side of the House again, I would like to be as effective as I possibly could be, which is the right of every Member of the House. Members of the House, including the three main Opposition spokespersons, have indicated strongly that the current NRA system with an Oireachtas liaison unit is not working. If a parliamentary question was the first device to try to...

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: No, but I am also taking into account what all the Deputies said. I do not want the NRA to become the whipping boy because other agencies may be concerned also, not just those within my Department's remit.

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I take responsibility for the agencies under my Department's aegis. I will not accept the amendments because they will not serve a useful purpose. In the light of what Deputies said, however, I will take seriously their comments about obtaining the information they need to do their job. I will take up this matter with the agencies concerned under my Department's aegis to ensure queries...

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Deputy Mitchell did not outline what other functions she envisaged for the system. Perhaps she will do so if the opportunity arises. She may have in mind the retention of records on car registration numbers. The M50 is subject to intensive video surveillance and live cameras are placed along its entire length. The traffic authorities and the Garda Síochána have access to this footage....

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: I do not wish to be discourteous to the Deputy. As he indicated, he is new in the House and unfamiliar with its procedures. I assure him that, in the context of the move to barrier-free tolling, the National Roads Authority intends to examine all the by-laws on tolling, including those relating to disabled drivers. I will convey the Deputy's views on the matter to the NRA. It is clear,...

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: As the Deputy notes, the amendment would remove the words "in the State" from the provision. However, this is an important technical provision in the Bill. I am told it was subject to considerable research and consultation by the office of the Parliamentary Counsel to ensure the wording was precisely in line with the terminology used in a range of other finance, customs and road traffic...

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: It may be all the things the Deputy suggests but it is there for a purpose, namely, to ensure people do not devise ways and means of getting away with the non-payment of tolls. The vast majority will pay their tolls and will do so if not willingly, then because they must. For a long time we in this country tolerated the many who did not obey the laws like the rest of us and who got away...

[i]Roads Bill 2007 [/i][[i]Seanad[/i]][b]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages.[/b] (4 Jul 2007)

Noel Dempsey: Under section 4(3)(c) a person can use that defence provided he or she has informed the Garda or the Garda is otherwise aware that the car was stolen. The question of community service might be a matter for the discretion of the court but I am not sure. While it is always useful to have the threat of prison I agree with the Deputy that the options of community service and fines should be...