Results 581-600 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Does the Minister accept it is bad practice for him to hold the power to appoint someone to a senior Civil Service position such as assistant secretary and to make such appointments behind closed doors without holding an open competition? What is the view of the trade unions representing senior management in the public service on this approach to doing business? While I accept one could argue...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: What is the appropriate term of office?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Is three years a sufficient transition period?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Does the Minister intend to hold a public competition after three years?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Surely the Minister does not want positions to be filled by appointees.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Will that occur after three or seven years?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Will it be after three or seven years?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: One way around this problem would be to offer the appointee a three year contract which the Minister could extend at his discretion.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: What agreement?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Agreements on senior posts in the public service, particularly the position of assistant secretary, should not be made behind closed doors. The length of the term of office and the point at which others can expect to have an opportunity to compete for the office should be made clear. The three to seven year period is too long. The Minister should indicate when he intends to open up the...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: I intend to return to this issue on Report Stage.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: I move amendment No. 9: In page 15, line 24, to delete "2001" and substitute "2003". This is a technical amendment which would merely entail deleting "2001" and substituting "2003". The reason for so doing is to update the reference to the Redundancy Payments Acts to account for the Redundancy Payments Act 2003 which was passed in the time this Bill was lying around.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: I support Deputy Mitchell on amendment No. 17. The Minister knows that the system does not work that way. Rail safety is a valid public interest issue. As public representatives, we should have the right to raise such issues in the Dáil and the Minister should be accountable to it for performance on rail safety. This is part of a general development that has taken place under the Government...

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Not on the performance of any of the agencies.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Why not? What is the problem with going further?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: Why is the Minister not prepared to be accountable to the Dáil for the Railway Safety Commission?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister is contradicting himself.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: There is an important point of principle at stake. Will the Minister explain why he is not prepared to share information from the commission with Members and why he refuses to take responsibility for the commission and answer Dáil questions?

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: The way he does with the NRA, the RPA and all the other agencies one cannot get near.

Railway Safety Bill 2001: Report Stage. (5 Oct 2005)

Róisín Shortall: We have tried to change the procedure.