Results 3,201-3,220 of 4,399 for speaker:Martin Browne

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: I call Deputy Buckley.

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Yes, please.

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: I have a few quick questions but I will come back in later as well. I was sent some stuff an hour or an hour and a half ago and I want to raise it with the Secretary General while he is here. I welcome you today and thank you for giving comprehensive answers. It is an ambitious agenda for change and we all need to embrace it and to improve the situation for people who are in these centres....

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: What progress has been made on the driver licence?

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: I have one last question before I let other members in for a second round. I appreciate you are working with the local authorities and housing bodies. Have you figured out how many houses you require per year and over what period?

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Deputy Devlin, do you wish to speak?

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: I thank the Secretary General. Does Senator Murphy want to ask a question?

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Will the direct provision centres that exist at the moment no longer be used? Can the Secretary General guarantee that the current practice will definitely be abolished by the end of 2024? On the legal side, legal assistance was another area where shortfalls were identified. We heard from the Law Society of Ireland that too many people still have to go through the preliminary international...

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Before any other member comes back in, I have a few things I would like to bring up. As I said earlier, I was contacted about three quarters of an hour before this meeting. The Secretary General's opening statement mentions that current residents have a right to expect quality service and we must ensure that it is functioning to meet their needs during the transition period. I do not doubt...

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: I understand the Secretary General cannot speak about individual cases and I would not expect it. However, previously records were released on how many died in these centres and the causes. That did not identifying an individual case or the area. It seems strange that kind of reporting stopped two years ago. I know the Department is not involved in what I spoke about earlier in regard...

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Has the Secretary General come across people in these centres who are afraid to report? The Ombudsman raised the issue that there was a fear among some people that there would be repercussions if they made complaints against centres. Has the Secretary General come across that? He said he was aware of the instance I mentioned about people being fed out of a bag and investigated it. Has he...

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Does any member wish to put anything more to the Department? No. I invite the Secretary General to make any final comments he wishes to.

Committee on Public Petitions: Direct Provision Policy and Related Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Thank you Secretary General. This discussion has been very beneficial and informative. On behalf of the committee I would like to thank the Secretary General, Ms Baxter and Ms Quinn for meeting us today, if only virtually. We will continue our discussions with the Department of Justice about the management of the asylum application process at subsequent meetings. I hope that at that stage...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Petitions Received (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: The next item on the agenda is consideration of public petitions. We have six petitions for consideration today: P00009/21 and P000023/21, P000018/21, P000019/21, P000034/21 and P000037/21. Summary notes and replies from Departments and other bodies were circulated to members. Is it agreed that the petitions considered by the committee at this meeting and at the previous meeting be...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Petitions Received (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Thank you Deputy Buckley. I support your call there. To correct you, I think it was Mr. Jamie Forde Kelly's petition that was before the previous committee, and not Mr. Barrett's. This has been going on since the last Government was in office and, as you said, concerns were raised that work is still going on. Despite the work the secretariat and others have put into this, I find it very...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Petitions Received (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: I agree with Deputy Buckley. This committee and the staff have been very lenient with these authorities because the European practise is that if you have not heard anything back after three months, you start an investigation. We are four months down the road, trying to get information or even a response from them. We will get the secretariat to write to them, inviting them in. We will...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Petitions Received (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: Agreed. The third petition is P000018/21, submitted by Mrs. Alexandra Koster, on prioritising urgent environmental issues and enforcing actions against non-adherence to environmental laws and regulations. The updated recommendation as of 19 November 2021 is that, first, permission be sought for Mrs. Koster to borrow the response of the Department of the Environment, Climate and...

Committee on Public Petitions: Decisions on Petitions Received (11 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: The recommendations are agreed. That concludes our consideration of public petitions this afternoon. I invite members of the public to submit petitions via our online portal. A petition may be addressed to the Houses of the Oireachtas on a matter of general public concern or interest or on an issue of public policy. Next on our agenda is any other business. Would members like to make...

Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021: Second Stage (10 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: The Bill is only on Second Stage and my colleagues will have a number of observations to make about it. I wanted to highlight a number of issues of concern.

Road Traffic and Roads Bill 2021: Second Stage (10 Nov 2021)

Martin Browne: At the outset and to be parochial, I would mention the N24 bypass of Tipperary town. The Minister of State might be able to put in a good word for it. I would like to speak about the creation of a new classification of a vehicle to facilitate the use of e-scooters and similar devices. Of course, we need to give them a classification of their own to provide legal clarity on the...