Results 15,601-15,620 of 18,736 for speaker:Michael McDowell
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: People are making up their own minds. I presume there probably is a lag between Irish behaviour and English behaviour in some respects, but I do think that there is room to be optimistic that the worst days of binge drinking are over and that people are-----
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: It is not because of this Bill. The Bill is not law yet and large portions of it may never be commenced, so let us remember that. I am concerned about the labelling of alcohol products. I did express my views before on this matter.
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: I will wait until the next group then.
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: I have no particular objection to the amendments that are being made here. I believe I was the person who pointed out the English and Irish language issue.
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: I thank the Minister-----
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: -----for upholding the status of the Irish language in this legislation. One thing that is possibly a little bit tangential to what we are talking about is that I notice the power to make a regulation under the Bill can apply to different types of containers. This amendment does not apply to this. If one sells wine by the case, will the case have to be broken open? Is that the intention or...
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: -----on the outside of the case be enough? If a person buys six or 12 bottles of wine in a container, which some people, including myself, do on occasion, will the person in the off-licence have to open up the container and start sticking labels on everything inside it, or will it be sufficient to put the label on the outside of the case?
- Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (10 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: Quite a lot of bottles are sold in boxes or novelty boxes. Is it going to be important that the box will have to opened up to put the label on the bottle?
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: That is a saving this House is making.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: The Minister has indicated that the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board has estimated annual costs of €50,000.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: No, it is €50,000. The Judicial Appointments Advisory Board is the existing body. It is indicated that the Department estimated the new body might cost €1 million per annum, but the Minister has revised this estimate to €500,000 per annum. Whichever way this is looked at it appears to be a tenfold or twentyfold increase in expenditure in this process, depending on...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: I was dealing with the staffing requirements of this new body and pointing out that the present arrangements are remarkably efficiently run with a very small staff. The Minister states the task of the new board will be immensely more elaborate because it will deal with selection and recommendations and with developing its own procedures. I am surprised to hear that the present Judicial...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: There would have to be strict regulation of what questions were put to an interviewee and whether they were put to all of them.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: I do not think the Senator would be eligible because he is a Member.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: I know. The body in question does not exist yet therefore.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: Those are issues which concern me. I fully understand the need to open up a subhead in the Estimates. Towards the end of the year, it is conventional and utterly unobjectionable to put in a nominal amount and to thereby create the opening in the public accounts for the expenditure of a greater amount in the year to which the Estimates are likely to have effect. However, what does a start-up...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: Section 23(2) states, "This section is in addition to any other provision made by this Act with regard to the provision of funding for a particular purpose." How does that marry with section 30(2), which we have not yet examined? The latter subsection states, "The Office shall be funded by moneys provided by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform."...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: It is stated the advances to the commission under section 23 are in addition to those moneys. Are we talking about the same moneys or different moneys? How is it that payments to the office are dealt with under section 30(2) and the advances to the commission are dealt with under section 23, which states the measure does not apply to other provisions in the legislation for the payment of moneys.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: I was surprised to receive an email during the week from a denizen of Dublin Rathdown who told me that he had received a leaflet through his letter box. The leaflet-----
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)
Michael McDowell: Curiously, it did not address Stepaside Garda station, although I only received one side of it. It features pictures of myself and, curiously, my great friend, former Deputy Alan Shatter, and describes us as "the opponents". The point that caught my attention was that it stated that the system for appointing judges in Ireland is tainted by political cronyism. Is it-----