Results 27,041-27,060 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Safety (3 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: The improvement and maintenance of regional and local roads (including lighting) is the statutory responsibility of each local authority, in accordance with the provisions of Section 13 of the Roads Act 1993. In view of this, I would suggest to the Deputy that he pursue the matter directly with the Local Authority as I have no function in respect of this matter.

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 20:In page 15, to delete lines 35 to 37, and in page 16, to delete lines 1 to 9 and substitute the following:"21.(1) A local authority chief executive—(a) shall at the end of the period of 3 years beginning on the company transfer day of a company to the local authority of which he or she is its chief executive, and (b) may at the end of each subsequent period of...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to outline the two scenarios at play in respect of ports and the numbers of employees in them. An election is held in a company with more than 30 employees. Where a company has fewer than 30 employees, the shareholder, currently the Minister but in the future the local authority, is required to appoint a person to the board to represent the employees' interests. In such a situation,...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I made the broad point to the Deputy that not all expenditure of private money was a gamble; not all investments are speculative. We have seen, to our cost, how the abuse of large sums of money caused great difficulty for the State. Nevertheless, not all investments that look to make a return are speculative. The Deputy has acknowledged that the Bill has a threshold in place such that...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I am happy to do so. The Deputy is fundamentally against private investment playing any role in supporting development within the country. Under the Bill, 51% of the harbour will be owned, directly or indirectly, by the State. It will remain in public ownership. Of course, if the people running it, whether that be the directors of the company or the local authority, believe there is an...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: They are not comparable.

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree broadly with the point made by Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett that no local authority chief executive alone should have the power to dispose of shares in a port or harbour. That is why I have two particular provisions in the Bill. The first provides that such a disposal could only happen with the consent of the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, the Minister...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: The explanation I gave earlier is quite important. This is based in company law and, for the life of me, I cannot understand why the Deputy would look to remove the ability of the Minister to make a decision before a due diligence process was complete. There is a key and fundamental difference within company law between transferring an entity into a local authority and allowing it to remain...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett contended that if the port was to be converted to a corporate entity, it would be separate from the local authority. That will not be the case. It will come within the local authority's remit and the best evidence I can offer is the fact that the single shareholder of such a port, were it to be brought inside a local authority unit, would be the local authority....

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I am doing my best to respond to the points that have been put to me, a Cheann Comhairle.

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I do. I have done my best to respond to the points Deputies put to me.

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I do, a Cheann Comhairle. I thank Deputies for the various comments and points they have made. I will begin with what Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett said about his amendment to which I will speak directly. I am not in a position to accept the amendment. I will respond to the comments of Deputy Mary Mitchell O’Connor. The reason for that is a due diligence process is under way...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: The chief executive officer is accountable to the local authority members. Let me give the Deputy a practical example of how that power should be wielded. Let us say I make the decision that a particular port be integrated in its entirety into the local authority structure. Financial decisions regarding that port will then form part of the budget that is put to the local authority members...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: No.

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: Deputy Boyd Barrett has spoken about the principle of setting up a consultation or stakeholder group but that does not cover all of his amendment. His amendment also provides that the other amendments in this group replace references to the local authority chief executive with a reference to the elected council in consultation with the stakeholder and community group. While the Deputy has...

Harbours Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank all the Deputies for their contributions and want to respond to some of their points in respect of individual ports, and to parts of the Bill which Deputy Boyd Barrett has highlighted with his amendment. I will deal with some specific points before addressing the overall policy thrust which Deputy Boyd Barrett has proposed. As Deputy Deasy has acknowledged, this legislation deals...

Harbours Bill 2015: Order for Report Stage (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now".

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Railway Stations (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: The issue raised is a matter for Irish Rail and I have forwarded the Deputy's question to the company for direct reply.  Please advise my private office if you do not receive a reply within ten working days.

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Departmental Funding (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: The award of grants for festivals is an operational matter for the Board and management of Fáilte Ireland and not a matter in which I, as Minister, have any role or function. It is a competitive process and there is no guarantee of funding for events which meet the minimum eligibility criteria. The Deputy may wish to note that the application process for the Regional Festivals...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Taxi Regulations (2 Dec 2015)

Paschal Donohoe: I am currently appointing members to the new Taxi Advisory Committee, in accordance with Section 72(4) of the Taxi Regulation Act 2013. To date, the Chairperson and 13 of the 17 ordinary members have been appointed and are listed in the table. Three appointments, which will be made under the Special Interest/ Expertise category, were advertised on 30th...