Results 1,361-1,380 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: These two amendments relate to section 11 of the Bill, which deals with membership of the authority. During discussions in the Dáil, I accepted a proposal to delete the subsection which provided that a member of the authority could only serve two terms of office. The argument that this could lead to the loss of expertise in the authority was well made and I had no difficulty in accepting...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: We will see.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: This amendment inserts a new section into the Bill which relates to the Comptroller and Auditor General (Amendment) Act 1993. The purpose of the amendment is to ensure that the 1993 Act applies to the property registration authority as if it were a Department. The need arises because the authority will have its own Vote, as the Land Registry and registry of deeds currently have. The chief...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: The Registration of Title Act 1964 provides for the registration of ownership of both freehold land and leasehold interests. Leasehold interest is defined as an interest in land under a lease for a term of which more than 21 years are unexpired at the date of registration. It would be desirable to move towards a situation where leases of less than 21 years could also be registered. It is for...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: I am informed that England and Wales have moved towards a period of seven years. However, this may be a long-term objective. This issue concerns resources and practicality. There is, as the new set of amendments provide, an imperative on the committee to examine the resources available to the authority and to look to the broader interest of encouraging registration. It would make no sense to...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: On Committee Stage in the other House, I accepted the principle of an amendment designed to ensure that the provisions of section 38 of the Bill concerning the validity of certain registered deeds did not affect proceedings which were pending at the commencement of the section. Amendment No. 30 gives effect to the intention behind the original amendment, which I accepted.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: One of the primary functions of the new authority will be to promote and extend the registration of ownership of land. My Department has engaged in extensive consultations with the Land Registry, the Law Society and the Irish Mortgage Council on practical means of achieving this objective. One of the suggestions that arose from these discussions related to the categories of title which may be...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: This group comprises a number of amendments to the 1964 Act that are designed to improve registration procedures and, therefore, assist the new authority in promoting and extending the registration of title. Amendment No. 37 introduces a new subsection to section 51 of the 1964 Act to make it easier to register long-term leases in registered freehold properties. In the case of a registered...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: This is an important amendment to the Bill. It responds to concerns expressed in earlier debates about the delays and costs currently associated with the registration of land. Under current legislation, if a registered owner of land wishes to deal with it in any way, a land certificate issued in respect of the land must be presented to the Land Registry before further transactions can be...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: Briefly, this amendment is designed to ensure that the authority is subject both to the Ombudsman Act 1980 and the Ombudsman for Children Act 2002 in the same way as the Land Registry and registry of deeds, which are already included in the Schedules to both Acts.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: I wish to take this opportunity to thank the Cathaoirleach and the Members of both Houses for the constructive approach shown with regard to this Bill. Last year when it was introduced to this House, I stated that the reforms contained in the Bill would help to make the conveyancing of land easier and faster and would reduce registration delays and associated costs. The additional reforms...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (27 Apr 2006)

Derek McDowell: In any event, until I introduce the Second Stage debate of the new Bill in this House, I wish to thank all the Members of this House who assiduously contributed to the passage of the present Bill through both Houses. I also wish, unprompted, to pay tribute to the officials in my Department who have worked on both projects and who are engaged in bringing about real, genuine and radical change...

Seanad: Road Safety Authority Bill 2004: Second Stage. (10 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: Some months ago I read an article in a magazine inquiring of the reader as to the number of people that had been killed on the roads in the United Kingdom in the preceding 15 years. The number was a staggering 58,000 or 59,000. It then went on to inquire as to the number killed as a result of accidents involving airlines based in the United Kingdom in the same period and the answer was none....

Seanad: Migration Report: Statements. (11 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: This country has changed enormously in the two years since 2004, but there is difficulty in assessing the nature and extent of the change. The Minister's speech, while healthy, has somewhat confused the issue. Information that has come into the public domain shows that approximately 200,000 PPS numbers have been issued to nationals of the new member states since 2004. The Minister said today...

Seanad: Supreme Court Judgment on Statutory Rape: Statements. (31 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: I acknowledge, in the words of the editorial in this morning's edition of The Irish Times, that there is "widespread outrage and dismay" at yesterday's release of a 41 year old man serving a sentence for unlawful carnal knowledge of a 12 year old girl. That release derived from last week's Supreme Court decision that section 1 of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935 was unconstitutional. The...

Seanad: Supreme Court Judgment on Statutory Rape: Statements. (31 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: To 12 May exactly.

Seanad: Supreme Court Judgment on Statutory Rape: Statements. (31 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: I am right——

Seanad: Supreme Court Judgment on Statutory Rape: Statements. (31 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: I will have to start by dealing with a number of Senator Tuffy's points. It is undoubtedly the case that section 14 of the 1935 Act was examined in the PG section of the Supreme Court's two-phased dealings, which ended with the CC case. In PG's case, it was found that sexual assault does allow the defence of mistaken belief and its constitutionality was upheld. Likewise, it is undoubtedly the...

Seanad: Supreme Court Judgment on Statutory Rape: Statements. (31 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: The third point I wish to make pertains to issues raised by Senator Cummins. He is perfectly entitled to be adversarial and to question the truthfulness of what I have said. However, I can tell him that I did not know about this matter. Had I known about it, it would have been much more convenient for me to say so, because stating that I did not know about the matter carried with it an...

Seanad: Supreme Court Judgment on Statutory Rape: Statements. (31 May 2006)

Derek McDowell: Unfortunately, nothing seemed to happen and the Department was unaware of subsequent developments, including the victory in the High Court, let alone what happened in the Supreme Court. While the Senator can be critical of these things, that is the truth. It would be much more convenient for me to say that I was monitoring this affair very closely, was reading every submission and all the...