Results 15,781-15,800 of 18,736 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I agree with the Minister's estimate of the distinction between (a) and (b). It is strange that in the context of an appointment to judicial office under section 39, there is an obligation to record the deliberations, but when it come to an office for which there is to be shortlist of three, based on expressions of interest, at the moment being the Chief Justice, the President of the Court...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Will the Minister deal with the other question and his advisers may be able to assist? What are the particulars referred to in that section?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I am anxious, Acting Chairman, to make progress with this Bill. We have come to the end of Part 4 and we have a number of Parts still to deal with. Will he put this section to the House, please?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Section 30 is an important enough provision of this Bill because the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board that currently exists has no permanent bureau, office or infrastructure of a governance kind attached to it. It is my very strong view that the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board's system is far preferable to this one and if it needs a slight tweaking here or there, it will be far more...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Sorry, yes.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: To be honest, I know that the Minister did say it, but I have to confess that I have forgotten what rank the director will be. If it is too much for him to say it again, so be it. I will consult the Official Report later to see what the answer was. There is a second point: the terms and conditions of service of a member of the staff of the office shall be determined by the commission with...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: The comparison to the Legal Services Regulatory Authority is useful. I would like to know roughly how much it costs the State per annum to run that body. I think it now has its office accommodation and is up and running and carrying out various functions after quite a slow start, for reasons which are not the fault of the members of the body.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I thank the Minister. Section 21 makes specific provision for accountability of the director to the Committee of Public Accounts. Will the director be an Accounting Officer for the purposes of public finances or will the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality be the Accounting Officer in respect of this body?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: That is interesting. Section 21 provides for an elaborate system of accountability by the director of this body to the Committee of Public Accounts. It states that whenever required to do so in writing by the PAC, this body shall give evidence to that committee in regard to the regularity and propriety of transactions and the economy and efficiency of the commission and various other...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I am at a loss to understand why when section 21 sets such an elaborate accountability duty on the part of the director of this body, a policy decision has been made that the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality will be the Accounting Officer. Is there a particular reason whoever occupies the position of director should be amenable in such an elaborate way to the PAC...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: One of the consequences of the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality being the Accounting Officer is that he or she will hold the purse strings of the commission in the hands of the Department. I recall that when the HSE was being established the then Tánaiste and Minister for Health and Children, Mary Harney, was very concerned at the Department of Finance's...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: While not wishing to stray ahead, the next section references the Public Appointments Service, PAS, being the body with responsibility for the selection process for the office of director. Will the PAS oversee the recruitment of staff by the commission under section 30?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Will the staff be existing public servants who will be seconded into the office or is this legislation providing for a body which is independent of Government to recruit people other than through the Public Appointments Service to be civil servants? It would be quite an innovation to allow a group of people who are independent of Government to select people to be civil servants of the State.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: This is a strange situation. As I understand it, the commission is by statute independent in the discharge of its functions. The Minister is now saying that the Secretary General of the Department of Justice and Equality is its Accounting Officer, even though its director is accountable to the Committee of Public Accounts. This is somewhat anomalous. However, as it is 7.30 p.m. we can...

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: The old dog-----

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: While I was listening to the debate, and I profess no knowledge of the subject matter, I was looking at the property supplement in The Irish Timestoday and as dogs are being mentioned by name I want to say there is a particular dog called Otto whose owners are selling their house in Rathgar for €1.45 million and one of the features of the house in leafy Dublin 6 is that there is a...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I reported progress yesterday-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: We were discussing section 30 when I reported progress yesterday. It occurred to me overnight that it is all very well to talk about €500,000 per annum being the increased cost of this body, but I ask Senators to consider that if this is to become a permanent or semi-permanent part of the budget of the State, it is equivalent, in terms of annual interest servicing, to an increase in...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: -----think it should not go further, yet we are throwing this money away.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: The Minister has indicated that the proposed appointee would be somebody who would be remunerated at the level of a principal officer in the Civil Service. That is, I suppose, a reasonable salary range to nominate for this position, but if one looks at subsections (2), (3) and (4), then we have a slight difficulty because subsection (2) states: "The Director shall hold office for such period...