Results 1,281-1,300 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Lisbon National Reform Programme: Statements. (26 Oct 2005)

Derek McDowell: I welcome the Minister. Senator Quinn summarised the Lisbon Agenda wonderfully when he said it was "motherhood and apple pie". It has always been that and in a sense it was designed to be that way. It was put together at a Council of the European Union comprising prime ministers of so many different political hues that to get them to agree to anything was difficult. We ended up with a faintly...

Seanad: Lisbon National Reform Programme: Statements. (26 Oct 2005)

Derek McDowell: We must get the balance right. We could start by having a decent, honest debate about it rather than suggesting rip-off Ireland is a phenomenon that exists purely on one side of the equation, as it were. With regard to free trade within Europe, we must complete the Single Market. Commissioner McCreevy should be supported in implementing the services directive but he must have due and proper...

Seanad: Lisbon National Reform Programme: Statements. (26 Oct 2005)

Derek McDowell: It should unbundle, get done with it and allow the competition, but I am not persuaded that even if this happens, all parts of County Galway or County Mayo will have broadband within a reasonable time. We need Government to take the lead here, to state that it regards this as a matter of licence and that it will simply trade the licence to provide broadband to the entire county of Mayo, or to...

Seanad: Lisbon National Reform Programme: Statements. (26 Oct 2005)

Derek McDowell: Senator Hayes's colleagues, yes, quite.

Seanad: Lisbon National Reform Programme: Statements. (26 Oct 2005)

Derek McDowell: I suppose we can probably do here too what can be done in Germany.

Seanad: Lisbon National Reform Programme: Statements. (26 Oct 2005)

Derek McDowell: I mention this because I am against the idea of flat tax. The only realistic way of doing it in a fashion, which is controllable or which makes sense, is by agreeing, first, that there must be a broad base of taxation throughout the European Union so that we all agree in principle we will tax corporation profits as well as taxing income and, second, that there is a minimum rate at which it...

Seanad: Lisbon National Reform Programme: Statements. (26 Oct 2005)

Derek McDowell: Things were much more interesting when we were allowed to disagree.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: Are they not the Senator's colleagues.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: The main focus of interest this evening is on the Progressive Democrats motion. It gives an obvious flavour of what we can expect from them in the upcoming general election. There is merit in debating the individual issues, but it also entails debating a bit of history, which I find a bit tedious. At a recent debate in Trinity College with Senator Minihan, I made the mistake of allowing him...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: I do. I get very tired of this particular argument.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: Since the Progressive Democrats never tire of trawling through the history books, we must stitch the truth into the record every now and then. I have got bad news for them. The next election will not be about tax, because we will not let it be about tax. I am not telling them many secrets here as we are not stupid. Before the last election, the Labour Party committed itself not to increase...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: The Labour Party was party to the decision to set the corporation tax rate at 12.5%. It is true to say that some of us might have liked to see it at 15% or 17.5% and there was a debate in the Government at the time. The debate was settled and it is over. There will be no proposal from the Labour Party to increase the 12.5% rate of corporation tax. I dispute the history of capital gains tax as...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: How much would it take in tax?

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Second Stage. (3 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: I have only had the opportunity to speed read the Bill on which I wish to make a number of brief points. I appreciate that it is normally the role of Opposition Members to say it has been an awful long time since a Bill has come through the other House and that it has taken a long time to get here, but in this case that seems to be peculiarly true. The Bill went through the Dáil shortly...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Second Stage. (3 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: We will wait and see.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Second Stage. (3 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: They have been ordered several times.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Second Stage. (3 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: We need to limit the number of passengers. We cannot continue to allow the large numbers of people who arrive at Heuston Station on Friday to board the trains. We cannot do that because sooner or later there will be a tragic accident and questions will be asked. Others have mentioned Transport 21 and I feel like a broken record complaining about this but it is genuinely disappointing. I have...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (3 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: I move amendment No. 12: In page 6, to delete lines 26 to 28 and substitute the following: "(2) Subject to the provisions of subsection (3) and Schedule 2 of this Act, the employer shall arrange for the election of an employees' representative under this section.". I am obliged to the Leas-Chathaoirleach for his indulgence. I apologise for my late arrival, I got caught in the gridlock on the...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (3 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: I am not sure if Senator Quinn and I should state our differences once again. For the sake of balance on this one occasion, the amendment in my name which was negatived on Committee Stage and disallowed today seeks to do away with the threshold. It goes without saying that I would oppose any amendment which seeks to make the threshold higher. The basic principle behind my amendment was simply...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (3 Nov 2005)

Derek McDowell: I express thanks to the Minister of State for taking on board much of the content of our amendment No. 35. There are four points in our rewriting of section 13, two of which the Minister of State has fully taken on board. The first relates to paid leave or paid absence from work for employee representatives. As the Minister set out, he has taken that on board and I thank him for that. The...