Results 2,941-2,960 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: The question about county managers is whether they are civil servants.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: If they are public servants, is the director a public servant?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I am querying how it can possibly be that every member of staff is a civil servant while the man or woman who controls and directs them is not. I am querying why it is that such a person should after ten years cease to have any job at all. If he or she is not a civil servant, what does he or she do at the end of the ten years? Does such a person just walk out the door and say "Thank you"?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: It has nothing to do with the private sector.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: It is remarkable. I will remove the word "scandal" and go to the word "remarkable". It is remarkable that the staff the director will be in charge of will be civil servants under section 30(6) whereas the director will not, even though he or she will be appointed by the commission following a Public Appointments Service selection process. I have had no good reason advanced to me as to why...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: What superannuation would one get for five years' service?

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Exactly.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: In the real world where we live, is the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform going to hand out a full pension to someone who has done five years? It is not. As such, what kind of pension will the person get? I find this unconvincing. I continue to ask the Minister and I continue to encounter a stone wall as to why there is a maximum term of ten years in this position.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: If that is the explanation that is forthcoming so be it. I find this section entirely unsatisfactory.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: If I may comment briefly on the section as I do not wish to waste time. This section is the third section in Part 5 of the Bill. I have set out at some considerable length, and I will not repeat myself now, my entire objection to the wasteful expenditure involved in the establishment of the judicial appointments commission and its office. Therefore, consistent with that position I am...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: The Legal Services Regulatory Authority and Property Registration Authority are institutions which are performing a useful function. We have a Judicial Appointments Advisory Board which costs practically nothing. The Minister's Government has been making excellent appointments to the Bench without the assistance of a commission of this kind. We do not need this commission and every cent...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I will assist Senator Norris.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Section 33 contains a number of separate proposals, one of which is to allow for the amendment of section 5 of the 1961 Act, which is either the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act, 1961 or the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act, 1961, to provide that: "A judge of the District Court who has served as such a judge for a period of not less than 2 years shall be qualified for...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Exactly. A new section will be inserted stating: "A person who is for the time being a legal academic of not less than 12 years' standing shall be qualified for appointment as a judge of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal, the High Court, the Circuit Court or the District Court, but this is subject to subsections (2), (3) and (5)." It goes on to provide that a legal academic must have...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: The amendment proposes to "delete all words from and including “(1) Section 5” in line 6 down to and including line 17", which relates to a judge of the District Court, and to leave in subsection (8). This amendment, if accepted, would radically simplify the basis on which individual legal academics could be appointed to the superior courts. It would state:Section 45A...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (20 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I will not dismiss the District Court and say it would not be of much use there but I cannot imagine why somebody who has all of this experience as a legal academic would want to spend time dealing with cases such as people having no lights on their bicycles and no television licence. We have to ask what is going on in this section. It is one thing to say we should have some port of entry...

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...