Results 2,321-2,340 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I know what the Deputy has quoted.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I have read it, thank you. I make the point that Deputy Morgan's take on what happened in the North of Ireland is infinitely more accurate than that of Deputy O'Dowd. Tens of millions were spent on trying to compile the voting register up there——

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I know that. I can read. Will Deputy O'Dowd bear with me and allow me make a point?

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I agree the Deputy is an accurate reader.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: The point I am making is that Deputy Morgan's take on what happened in the North of Ireland is infinitely more accurate than that of Deputy O'Dowd.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I know what the Deputy is talking about. I simply make the point that before——

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I listened with patience and courtesy to Deputy O'Dowd, including to his inaccuracies, and I ask him to return the courtesy and let me finish the point.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: The point being made, which the Deputy wishes to ignore, is there was a massive and costly effort made in the North of Ireland before they moved to the rolling register.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Instruction to Committee (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I have been an advocate of a rolling register here. Regarding whether we could use PPS numbers, if there was a simple way of converting the 5 million plus PPS numbers, which are not sensitive to addresses, to a voting register, it would be done. However, there is no simple way of doing that without a massive change in the way we do our business. Returning to Deputy Gregory's point, PPS...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Order for Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: Deputy O'Dowd and I have had many a joust on the issue of the comma as the issue seems to arise often. There appears to be a difference between the parliamentary draftsman's office and the draftsman who has given advice to Deputy O'Dowd that the comma should be included. I regret I cannot accept the amendment.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: The Fine Gael and Green Party amendments repeat amendments which were debated extensively on Committee Stage. Deputy Morgan's amendment, which has been struck down, related to much the same issue. These amendments may be summarised as the provision of information and assistance for the prisoner in the registration and in the voting process. We had fun with this on Committee Stage when we...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: Deputy Morgan has cleverly slipped the matter under the door. He is correct. The relevant official in the Prison Service will be at deputy governor or governor level so there will be responsibility over this process and, for example, there will not be a situation where the local authority does not send out forms and they end up in the bin. It is a serious matter. To return to Deputy...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I read this amendment with some interest. I am advised it is not necessary to include a definition of "registration authority" in the Bill as proposed, although I understand the Deputy's intention. Section 18(2) already provides that the Bill when enacted is to be read as one with Electoral Acts 1992 to 2005. These Acts include the appropriate definition of regulatory authorities, and it...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: We were probably too weary at the end of the day, or something like that, to discuss this. A person can become an Irish citizen, or claim Irish citizenship, in a number of ways. Such a person might never have lived in this country. If someone arrives at Dublin Airport with a stash of banned substances in his or her suitcase and another prohibited substance in his or her pocket, and he or...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: If a person who is sent to prison was born in this country, he or she would be entitled to ordinary residency and would meet the requirement.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I gave a great deal of consideration to this proposal. The Deputy's last point related to the use of the word "place" to refer to the place where the prisoner would have been residing if he or she were not in prison. This amendment, which was discussed on Committee Stage, seeks to change the text of the Bill to indicate that a person will be deemed to be ordinarily resident in a...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: I see the point the Deputy is making. Deputy Gilmore made the point that if an offence had been committed and a family did not want one of its members registered at that address the local authority would have to work out an appropriate way of registering the person. In the case of a prisoner who does not have a previous address or who is homeless, the association will be at some hostel or...

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: There must be flexibility on the issue.

Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Dick Roche: The problem is if the person does not have an address. Deputy O'Dowd is talking about somebody who does not have an address. He or she is transient——