Results 3,061-3,080 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: In addition, there are no prosecutions unless there is evidence. Imagine if one were caught for drink-driving and one was able to hand a preprinted card to the garda and say: "Consult my solicitor. I am driving home."

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Okay, I am a Member of the Oireachtas. My point is that these things could be very serious. A garda could impart a piece of tittle-tattle which has no serious consequence, and the Garda Síochána Act was specifically and carefully crafted to state that it had to have very serious adverse consequences before an offence would be committed. In this case, however, it is not necessary...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I am glad the Minister will do that. The Minister is correct that amendment No. 67 is effectively consequential on my objections to section 11(7) and 11(8). I will not move that amendment because it would be pointless to remove the reference to advisers at this stage unless section 11 is revisited. I still object to section 11, which is wrong-headed.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: That is right. We probably have debated this thoroughly and I hope that Senators Craughwell and Norris and I have made a strong case for the changes we are seeking. In the meantime, I am not prepared to proceed on the basis that the Minister will consider it and that his advisers say it is more important to keep consistency with the Property Registration Authority. That is far less...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: This goes to the heart of the constitutional order. I do not believe secrets in the Property Registration Authority are of the same order at all. I cannot even imagine what secrets the PRA has.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: In any event, this is of a wholly different order and requires a different approach. I ask the Minister to withdraw his amendments and we will proceed to the next section. Otherwise, I must oppose his amendments.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: It would also improve the section, if we are going to have a confidentiality obligation, to make it clear that it is not geographically confined as to its ambit and, therefore, any person anywhere, whether inside or outside the State, who reveals this information would commit a criminal offence. We would not want somebody going to Newry to hand over the information. We do not want something...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I object to amendment No. 66 on the basis the Minister has defended it here. Effectively, it permits the commission to delegate to the director the business of consenting to information being disclosed. I have an objection to this and I am not happy with amendment No. 66 in any shape or form or however it is defended.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I asked the Minister to withdraw the amendment but he will not do so.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Senator Norris referred to amendment No. 90 in my name, as it arose in discussion. The Senator referred to missing words in subsection (2) of the amendment. I do not know how they are missing; it is probably my fault and I do not blame the Bills Office. I ask that the amendment of the text-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: No, because we are discussing it now and I do not want to propose nonsense. I believe there is a slip rule for minor matters.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Perhaps when we get to that amendment. That is fair enough.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I would just like to make a few points. In the intervening period I have considered what the Minister frankly admitted to be his understanding of the proposed impact of the legislation, including his amendments to sections 27 and 28, and the inclusion of the Attorney General as a member of the commission. I have spoken to persons high and low about the suggestion that it should be a...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I was talking about the past. I was not suggesting there is such correspondence now.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I have heard what the Minister has said. What he intends this legislation to achieve is now clear. He intends that the Attorney General should be prohibited on pain of committing a criminal offence from imparting to the Cabinet the identity of unsuccessful candidates in the commission. The Minister says that this is appropriate because to excuse the Attorney General from any such...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I want to put it on the record that the Minister has informed the House that he believes unsuccessful candidates will be notified of that fact. If that is the case, it will have to be made very clear on Report Stage. We cannot treat this as something that the Minister hopes for, but the commission can decide not to do. Is it the case that those who will be shortlisted will be notified of...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Statements (6 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: I welcome the Tánaiste to the House and I welcome the substance of what he has said. It is important that he gets to say, other than in the context of a hostile interview or in an editable form, exactly what the situation is. He has done so admirably. I welcome in particular and agree completely with Senator Marshall's comments on the position of the Government. It has not been...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (24 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: It is a great honour for me to be able to participate in this tribute to the late Maurice Hayes and to do so in particular in the presence of his family, including his wife, Joan, his daughters, Clodagh, Margaret and Dara, and his sons, Garrett and Ronan, as well as their extended families and connections who are in the House today. Maurice Hayes was born in 1927 in Killough in County Down....

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: The Acting Chairman was so out of breath, I had difficulty following his announcement of the amendments in the group.

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: I thought he was breathless with anticipation.