Results 1,021-1,040 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Like Senator Norris I agree with almost everything the Minister said but he did not address the net point of the amendment at any great length. He says that we want to provide citizenship for children where there is a "proven long-term commitment" and the main criterion for assessing that is that they have been here for three years. People who have been here for three years, even if two were...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Is it necessary, as part of that application, virtually to re-establish that one is a refugee?

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Are there Bosnians here who are acknowledged, accepted and welcomed as refugees?

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Are they here as refugees or have they been naturalised?

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I do not wish to labour this but are there any who could now be applying for naturalisation as refugees notwithstanding that we know the situation in Bosnia is infinitely better than it was and that if these people were applying ab initio as refugees we would probably say Bosnia is relatively peaceful?

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I move amendment No. 11: In page 12, lines 5 and 6, to delete "a person is of Irish associations if--" and substitute ", reference to Irish associations shall not include the making of an investment in Ireland but shall include circumstances where a person meets one of the following criteria--". This section seeks essentially to eliminate what was colloquially called the "passports for sale"...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I was primarily interested in determining that this was the case. On that basis, I am happy to withdraw the amendments.

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: In a sense I was teasing out the same question. I assume the passports in question were ten-year passports, as are most passports issued. On expiry after ten years a fresh application must be made. That period would now be almost up. I am wondering if applications for renewal have been made in the case of any of those individuals. Is it open to the Department to look again at the...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: This produces a very curious situation. The Minister fairly and reasonably gave us chapter and verse about the shady circumstances in which some passports were issued between 1988 and 1994. However, as I understand it, he is now effectively saying that if those guys were to come back and apply again — I assume they got time limited passports in the same way as most normal Irish citizens do...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I take it that an application for a fresh passport is merely an opportunity to update the photograph and to pay €75 and that it is not, in any sense, a fresh application for citizenship.

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: The Minister is in a curious situation. In his position as a corporation sole in succession to his predecessors, he is not in a position to do anything about an application granted in shady circumstances. Perhaps that is something we should further examine in addition to circumstances in which we would revoke citizenship. To tease the matter out a little more in the context of this Bill, I...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: The reason for my last question was to try to tease this out. We now have an amendment to the jus soli rule whereby children born here to non-national parents must also establish residence. If information is provided to establish the residence of the parents for three years and we discover subsequently that wrong or misleading information was given on the forms to be filled in to establish...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Even if they already had a passport?

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I do not wish to press the amendment but I understood the Minister to state that the power to revoke only arose in the case of naturalisation and did not arise if somebody was seeking to claim on the basis of jus soli, now amended.

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I move amendment No. 15: In page 14, line 13, after "appoint" to insert "being not earlier than the 24th day of April, 2005". This amendment was tabled in the Lower House by Deputy Costello. I read it a number of times to try to work out what on earth it meant. Now that I have worked out what it means, I have decided that I do not intend to progress it any further. I will pass up on the...

Seanad: Irish Nationality and Citizenship Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: Yes, I understand that it did.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I give Senator Brian Hayes the assurance that I will draw attention to the view of this House that there should be representation in recruitment. I certainly will make that a priority as far as I am concerned. I am sure the Commissioner does not need persuasion on this issue. He is a highly intelligent, highly-motivated individual and he probably senses this as strongly, if not more strongly,...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Second Stage. (9 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I apologise on behalf of my colleague, Senator McCarthy, who intended to take this Bill but unfortunately had to attend to a matter in Cork. I welcome my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Callely, to the House. I do not think I have had an opportunity to congratulate him on the record before, which I now do. I am bothered by section 34 of the Bill which deals with the...

Seanad: Tributes to Deputy Head Usher of the Houses of the Oireachtas. (10 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I join others in paying tribute to Frank Lane. I did not know until the Leader mentioned it that he was the deputy head usher and had risen to such greatness. Like everybody else, I associated him principally with providing services, not least the envelopes. I also confess that I never thought he was a chrysanthemum kind of man. I am not sure he will thank Senator Brian Hayes for putting that...

Seanad: Tributes to Deputy Head Usher of the Houses of the Oireachtas. (10 Dec 2004)

Derek McDowell: I do not intend to sound critical, but some ushers tend on occasion to be a little over deferential in a way——