Results 17,481-17,500 of 18,737 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Michael McDowell: Section 1 is the definition section of the Bill. One might expect that care would have been taken to provide proper definitions in section 1, rather than ignore a real problem with the Bill. I pointed out to the Minister that in the last Seanad we had a Bill that had left Dáil Éireann in a shambles and arrived up in the Seanad. It was called by a certain person a "dog's dinner"...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Michael McDowell: Is it not the case that, according to the Order of Business, the question is to be put at 8 p.m.?

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Oct 2020)

Michael McDowell: Section 6D, which is to be inserted into the 1947 Act by this section of the proposed Bill, allows the Minister to make regulations "prescribing such one or more penal provisions as are specified in the regulations to be dwelling event provisions.". The proposed section 6E states, "In proceedings for an offence under this section consisting of a contravention of a dwelling event provision,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU Response to Covid-19: Discussion (28 Oct 2020)

Michael McDowell: My questions are for both of our guests, whom I thank for their presentations and attendance. The Commission stated yesterday that universal vaccination may not be available until 2022. Why is this? Perhaps Mr. Kiely will explain. Is it that the Commission foresees supply constraints or is it just less optimistic about the speed of development and authorisation, based on safety...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I wish to move an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 8 be taken before No. 1. This concerns the Children (Amendment) Bill 2020. On the issue of voting for business next Tuesday, I appreciate the problems we face with accommodation, votes and the like. I have tried to be constructive, as has my group, on all of these matters. Some people feel that in these Covid days, we must...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: Yes, I suppose so.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: First Stage (6 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Children Act, 2001 to permit the publication and broadcasting of reports and images identifying or likely to identify persons accused or convicted in proceedings for certain offences against children and to provide for related matters.

Seanad: Children (Amendment) Bill 2020: First Stage (6 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: Next Friday, 13 November, since Tuesday is all blocked off.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020: Motion (6 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I will be supporting the amendment, which has been tendered to this motion, to extend the legislation only to a date in February. I do so because I think it is important for this House, and Dáil Éireann for that matter, to keep the Government accountable and keep all of the emergency measures under constant review and that we do not find ourselves effectively being run by...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Enforcement Powers) (Covid-19) Act 2020: Motion (6 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I welcome the Minister of State and thank Senator Cassells for his very generous encomium, which is not entirely deserved. I reiterate my thanks to him, along with Senators Warfield and Higgins, for their enthusiastic and totally committed support of the Seanad implementation group process. If we are talking about between 800,000 and 1 million people as part of this electorate for six seats...

Seanad: Seanad Electoral (University Members) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (10 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: The Minister of State will not be missed.

Seanad: Political Donations: Motion (11 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I want to hear the answers.

Seanad: Political Donations: Motion (11 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: This motion raises important fundamental points. Although there has been considerable crossfire in the Chamber this evening, there are historical matters which must be addressed too. I was in Weston Park in Britain in 2001 when the Irish Government was informed that senior members of the republican movement were in Colombia. They were selling military know-how to FARC, a Marxist guerilla...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Conference on the Future of Europe: Discussion (11 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I thank our guests for a very interesting set of contributions and responses. I hope Dr. Day is not frightened by this, but I agree with her approach, in that we should examine issue-based rather than theory-based changes in planning out the future of Europe. We have to go through a few logical steps. First, what is not happening that people in Europe want to happen? Second, does it need...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I wish to move an amendment to the Order of Business to delete the motion relating to the sixth report of the Seanad Committee on Procedure and Privileges on Standing Order 45, which is scheduled to be considered without debate. I do so on the basis that this matter is one for which there was no adequate notice to my group of the proposal to further curtail the amount of time available to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I read the speech and I think it took approximately 20 minutes to deliver, and he was frequently interrupted. Our procedures now are such that we are reducing ourselves to almost the status of old-fashioned telegram boys. We are not debating things seriously or providing for serious debate. We are reducing the role of the House as a legislative organ, especially in respect of legislation,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: It was not on the agenda.

Seanad: Seanad Bill 2020: Second Stage (18 Nov 2020)

Michael McDowell: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."It is important, perhaps, to note that on 1 February 2018 the then Taoiseach, now Tánaiste and Minister, Deputy Varadkar, came to this House and endorsed the principle of the Manning report and announced his intention to establish an all-party implementation group and spoke strongly in favour of the principle of amending the way Seanad...