Results 14,941-14,960 of 18,736 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Estimates for Public Services 2017: Vote 29 - Communications, Climate Action and Environment (27 Sep 2017)

Michael McDowell: -----pay less than a working-class couple in Dublin that is just about earning the average industrial wage is paying in respect of a modest former local authority house? It is unfair.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Sep 2017)

Michael McDowell: On the supplementary Order Paper there is a proposal to refer the 2014 report of the Convention on the Constitution to a committee in respect of housing and the Constitution. It seems to me that we have a rash of proposals for constitutional change now. Stephen Collins in The Irish Timestoday queries whether we should scrap the Constitution completely as there are so many amendments being...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (28 Sep 2017)

Michael McDowell: There are many different factors in the housing shortage and homelessness issue confronting us at present, but one I want to particularly emphasise is one which I do not see echoed anywhere in any of the Government statements thus far, and I hope it will be looked on and some attention given to it. One of the major problems we face is housing and rebuilding the city of Dublin. That is where...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: Last week the necessity of having a proper debate in this House on the future of Europe was raised. I ask the Deputy Leader to consider allowing such a debate. Our agenda is fairly unpacked, if I may use that phrase. There is plenty of time to debate this issue and much has to be considered in respect of it, such as the attitude of the State to what is happening in the European Union at...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Retransmission Fees: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I welcome Mr. Kiely, Mr. Malone and Ms Áine Ní Chaoindealbháin here today, and Mr. McCaffrey as well. On the question of advertising a number of issues arise. Sky is doing a lot of Irish advertising. Will the witnesses elaborate to the committee on the effect of Sky being able to use Irish advertising in the context of non-Irish channels, some of which, as far as I can...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Retransmission Fees: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I find myself at variance with Deputy Dooley. I am on the opposite side of this. RTE has financial problems and they must be solved. The idea that one part of the resolution is for RTE to tap into the pay TV platforms in Ireland and get an extra bite at the cherry, after receiving over €160 from every taxpayer in the country, is completely unacceptable. It is a question of double...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Retransmission Fees: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I think we have to take on board the last point which was made. There is an obligation to carry channels and an entitlement to pay, but there is no resolution system provided by statute. We forget that under copyright law in respect of recorded music, for instance, there is a system of working out what royalties are payable. There is a mandatory system whereby one can use recorded music...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Retransmission Fees: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: Elasticity is one of the requirements.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Retransmission Fees: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I have a question for Mr. O'Brien. Does he believe that UTV Ireland suffered from being down that pecking order?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2017 and Retransmission Fees: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I believe it did. It was not top of the charts.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I take the opportunity on behalf of myself and my fellow members of the Independent group to express condolences to the members of the family of the late Liam Cosgrave, iar Thaoiseach. Many words have been spoken about him since his death and some of them have been well publicised, but there were aspects of Liam Cosgrave which I think were not sufficiently appreciated by the Irish people and...

Seanad: Northern Ireland: Statements (11 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I welcome the opportunity to speak on this subject, I also welcome the Minister. I accept fully what he says about the requirement in current circumstances to remain at the level of generality for fear of compromising delicate negotiations which are in train. Arising from the remarks of Senator Mark Daly, it seems that there are several issues of which we should be conscious. First, it is...

Seanad: Eighth Report of Convention on the Constitution: Motion (11 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I was one of the people who participated as a guest speaker at the Constitutional Convention in Malahide when all of this started. When I got there, all of the dice were already heavily loaded in favour of this being the outcome of the convention. Papers had been put before the delegates by people who were interested in social and economic rights being put into the Constitution. Even...

Seanad: Future of Europe: Statements (12 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in this afternoon's proceedings and I have had the opportunity of considering the Minister of State's statement. I am very pleased by its content and tone. The debate on Europe in Ireland has been polarised into a very unreal one between those who have always been opposed to Ireland's membership of the EU and have always sought to get a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations: Discussion (17 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I thank the witnesses who are present today. I am a bit concerned about the answers we have received in relation to Northern Ireland. It seems to me that a scheme of this kind should have been implemented on an agreed North-South basis. From the answers we got, it appears to me that although there was a desire for some kind of co-ordination there has not actually been implementation on a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations: Discussion (17 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: One question I forgot is how the €11 charge is fixedvis-à-visthe €3? That seems to have gone off the radar screen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations: Discussion (17 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: What happened in respect of Northern Ireland? That question has still not been addressed.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations: Discussion (17 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: I have one question for Mr. Clancy before we break. I want to understand it before we come back. If Repak has a shipload of tyres going to Turkey, Korea, China or wherever, does Repak pay them for the load or do they pay Repak for the load?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Waste Management (Tyres and Waste Tyres) Regulations: Discussion (17 Oct 2017)

Michael McDowell: The load is sitting in some port ready to go out. Who pays whom for taking it?