Results 1,101-1,120 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: Since the House last sat, several worrying developments have occurred in the health service. On Friday, consultant members of the Irish Medical Organisation initiated industrial action for March. On Sunday, an emergency general meeting of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association also decided to ballot its members on industrial action. We cannot underestimate the importance, influence and...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon. The Kilkenny fish issue strikes me as a misnomer since, as I understand it, the Nore rises in the Minister of State's constituency. They should properly be referred to, therefore, as Laois fish.

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: I trust the Minister of State treats his human constituents rather better than the fish elements of his constituency. As Senator Phelan said, it is not just a matter of piscatorial convenience. Value for money is a serious issue and I was struck by the lengthy passage in the Minister of State's contribution on this point. Senator Phelan rightly quoted at length from the very worthy Fine Gael...

Seanad: Appropriation Act 2004: Statements. (8 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: We all agreed that it started in 1994, or possibly even earlier. The second myth is the notion that tax cuts stimulated or were responsible for the boom. In many respects, they were the product of the boom. The major income tax cuts occurred in the late 1990s and not in the early 1990s. I do not think one can claim, as the Minister of State's party does, that income tax cuts gave rise to the...

Seanad: Overseas Development Aid: Motion. (9 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: I move: That Seanad Éireann deplores the decision of the Government to renege on the solemn commitment given by the Taoiseach in 2000 to increase Ireland's Overseas Development Aid budget to 0.7% of GNP by 2007; and now calls on the Government to make statutory provision for increases in the annual spending on ODA so as to meet the commitment given to the United Nations. I welcome the...

Seanad: Overseas Development Aid: Motion. (9 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: What did the Minister of State do with it?

Seanad: Overseas Development Aid: Motion. (9 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: I thank all those who contributed to the debate, which has been interesting and useful, a measure of the commitment on all sides of the House to meeting the goals set by the Government at the earliest opportunity. A number of interesting points were made to which I wish to refer briefly. Senator Feeney made an interesting and thoughtful contribution, although I profoundly disagree with her...

Seanad: Overseas Development Aid: Motion. (9 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: We expected and hoped in 2000 that we would have year on year growth of about 5%, and we did. We are where we expected and hoped to be economically. We always knew the figures and the volume. We knew we would be talking about a doubling of aid. It could not have come as a surprise to anybody. It certainly did not come as a surprise to the Minister's colleagues in the Department of Foreign...

Seanad: Employment Policy: Motion. (23 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: This is one of those motions which, on one level, one finds it difficult to argue against because included in it is a litany of what essentially are facts. It is the tone more than anything else to which one must object. It would be churlish and foolish to say that there have not been improvements in the labour market and in the position as regards employment during the past ten to 15 years....

Seanad: Employment Policy: Motion. (23 Feb 2005)

Derek McDowell: Slovakia also has a low rate.

Seanad: Child Care Services: Motion. (9 Mar 2005)

Derek McDowell: It is my pleasure to second the motion before the House in the name of the Labour Party Senators. The Minister of State, Deputy Fahey, spoke in a similar type debate in this House some weeks ago. He gave us a comprehensive description of the Government's policy which also entailed a description of the current problem. He estimated that we needed approximately 220,000 child care places. He...

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: On that issue and speaking as a northsider, one of the major benefits, if not the major benefit, to the north side of the tertiary treatment plant at Ringsend is that it transferred all of the sewage from the north side to the south side, which is ideally where it should be. It is something of a disappointment that it managed to get back, albeit as Senator O'Toole so articulately put it, in...

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: Of course.

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: I join others in acknowledging the significant progress and growth that has taken place in the Irish Financial Services Centre over the past 20 years. The centre is based in a part of Dublin that used to be derelict, but now resembles the skyline of a North American city. The number of people employed in the financial services sector has increased from not much more than zero to well over...

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: I assume, therefore, that the major effect of this is to transpose the directive and effectively increase the fines that can be imposed in cases on indictment and I welcome that. There is plenty in the Bill to tease out on Committee and Report Stages. I welcome the Bill but I am nervous about legislation the major thrust of which is to create a regime where regulation is lighter than at...

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: I do not wish to be argumentative, but the point I made was slightly different. I wished to say that what we did has made it impossible for governments anywhere to adequately tax international financial institutions which have mobile assets as they deal in money. My point was not that there has been a specific loss in Ireland but that it is now impossible to adequately tax multinational...

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: Did the Minister of State say "week", as in one week?

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: I do not quite understand the impact of the amendment on section 2. Perhaps the Minister of State can indulge me by telling me what is "an industrial and provident society". What are the essential characteristics of such a society? Frankly, I do not really know.

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: Am I right to state that credit unions and building societies will not be affected by the amendments?

Seanad: Investment Funds, Companies and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2005: Committee and Remaining Stages. (26 Apr 2005)

Derek McDowell: What type of institution will be affected?