Results 961-980 of 18,726 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: As Senator McDowell is surprised at my obeisance to social partnership, I am delighted that China and Siberia are off his holiday destination list. It is amazing what has happened since the collapse of Communism. We are dealing here with a matter of some significance. Section 7 puts a new section 11A into the Act. It allows that "an employee shall be entitled, in accordance with regulations...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am minded to refuse the amendment. Whatever merit such a scheme would have and subject to whatever controls would have to be put in place, there is no reason in the world to suggest an employer should bear this cost. It is one thing for the Labour Party or Senator Terry to suggest the Exchequer should fund exploratory visits abroad with a view to adoption. However, it is difficult to tell...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: The amendment is not reasonable. We cannot visit on employers running small companies in competition with others, in addition to the liabilities such competition imposes, an obligation to bear the expense of an employee and his or her substitute while the employee in a year prior to adoption makes a number of visits abroad for a number of weeks each time. If we want to go down that road, the...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I do not know.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I presume the statistics do not differentiate between the two. I am unable to give that information to the Senator.

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: Yes, it is, and my next point is also relevant to today's debate. I can understand a proposal that the Exchequer subsidise trips abroad for the purpose of adoption if that proposal is to be part of the social welfare system, be it wise or unwise bearing in mind the other areas to which the money could be addressed. What I do not understand is a proposal that we should decide the employer is...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I sometimes wonder how any of these things would work in practice. I know that would-be adopters of foreign children make considerable sacrifices, sometimes unsuccessfully, to go to places and return with nothing or return with arrangements which have fallen through or whatever. I do not underestimate the sacrifices they make and I salute them. However, I am not dealing here with a clause of...

Seanad: Adoptive Leave Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (26 May 2004)

Michael McDowell: I remind Senator Terry to think back 20 years ago to 1983 to 1984 when this country was going through one of its worst crises ever with mass unemployment and emigration, huge taxation and the IMF knocking on our door. They were not exactly halcyon days. The success of the economy has improved things immensely and has created the leeway in which we can have minimum wages of €7 an hour. All...

Garda Equipment. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Garda Síochána possesses 408 laser speed detection units which were purchased between 1 December 1995 and 8 January 2002. All of these laser speed detection units were purchased strictly in accordance with national and EU public procurement guidelines. In all cases sanction was received from the Government contracts committee and the...

Garda Equipment. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am not responsible for the legislation to which the Deputy referred. As he rightly pointed out, that legislation was enacted after the equipment had been purchased. I am not conceding the point because I do not wish to throw away the Minister for Transport's legal case in this matter. As regards the Deputy's point that the Act does not reflect the nature of the equipment, I must point out...

Garda Equipment. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: I do not wish at this stage to concede the point that the Act has the meaning suggested by the Deputy.

Garda Equipment. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: It may be but I am not here to——

Garda Equipment. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy spoke of hospital passes. It would be a large hospital pass for me to concede the correctness or incorrectness of any case which the Minister may be advised to bring to court. I assume Deputy O'Keeffe would agree it would be unfortunate if I were to do so. I am not side-stepping the issue. The Garda Síochána has certain functions under the Road Traffic Act. This is not the first...

Garda Equipment. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: I agree with the Deputy that if it turns out in court that the position is as suggested by him then, unfortunately, the equipment in use by the Garda at the time the law was changed was not comprehended by the terminology of the statute.

Presidential Visit. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: For obvious reasons, I am sure the Deputy will appreciate that it would not be appropriate for me to go into the details of the security measures being put in place in respect of President Bush's visit later this month. The Deputy will appreciate the visit is one of the aspects of Ireland's Presidency of the European Union. It is customary that a meeting between the President of the United...

Presidential Visit. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: It would be invidious of me to vary the extent of security by reference to the perceived popularity or unpopularity of any foreign visitor or Head of State. As Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I have a duty to uphold the rights of not just the individual concerned but the Irish people to conduct their international relations in an appropriate manner. As I stated in my reply, the...

Presidential Visit. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: Given the circumstances of the operation being put in place by members of the Garda Síochána, it is a gesture of courtesy and politeness on its part to do some homework so the tactics used to uphold security on the ground will not be unnecessarily heavy-handed or unmindful of the wishes of the inhabitants of the area in question. There is nothing sinister about the operation and the Garda...

Citizenship Referendum. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: The Irish Human Rights Commission produced a 32-page document of observations on which it would not be possible for me in the limited time available for parliamentary questions to give a detailed response. I propose to concentrate on the principal points made in those observations. In summary, the commission asserts that being an Irish citizen makes the enjoyment of human rights in the State...

Citizenship Referendum. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: Implicit in the Deputy's line of argument is that a child who came into this country with his non-national parents and who is in a playground standing beside a young Irish child born to Irish parents has different fundamental protections under our Constitution than the other child. I reject that suggestion. Despite the 32-page document and the conclusions of the Children's Rights Alliance,...

Freedom of Information. (1 Jun 2004)

Michael McDowell: The procedures followed by my Department in the processing of Freedom of Information requests are as governed by the provisions of the Freedom of Information Acts 1997 and 2003. When a freedom of information request is received by the Department, the request is acknowledged in writing not later than ten working days after receipt of the request. The letter of acknowledgement also notifies the...