Results 32,861-32,880 of 32,999 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 51: In page 43, subsection (5), lines 30 to 39, to delete paragraph (c) and substitute the following: "(c) (i) The Authority shall, six months prior to the expiration of any direct award contract, invite and consider tenders from any public transport operator in respect of the relevant public transport service contract or any portion thereof. (ii) The Authority shall...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (13 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for his clarification. I do not seek to remove the ability of the new authority to award direct contracts to organisations for the provision of transport services for the Dublin area. The Minister has clarified the process that takes place up until the awarding of the contract. What I have in mind is large developers and organisations for which I do not frequently have...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I support Senator Ryan's amendment. As I indicated, politicians must be involved in running the Dublin transport authority and holding it to account. The amendment is timely in the light of the proposals for a directly elected lord mayor of Dublin emanating from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. If it were to transpire that the people of Dublin elected a...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: If Dublin Bus proposes to open a new bus route, the Dublin transport authority has the power to reject it and provide the service directly. The reason it is not proposed to appoint persons from these organisations to the board is that many of the powers they have traditionally wielded will be transferred to the Dublin transport authority. One reason for having these organisations...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with what the Minister said about the need to ensure the board is capable of overcoming any vested interests. Therefore, it is probably inappropriate that one would have chief executives from the different organisations on the board.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: This states at least three. We need to ensure we find a way to retain the expertise in these organisations and that it is not lost in the transition to the Dublin transport authority. The Minister said this was a regulatory body but a later section in the Bill illustrates the potential for conflict. Not only is this a regulatory body but it also has the potential to be the provider of last...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: Will the Chair verify for me that amendment No. 24 is out of order?

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 25: In page 21, subsection (5)(a), line 23, after "movement," to insert "and representatives from the private sector". I am prepared to withdraw amendment No. 25 so that we can look at the language for that on the next Stage. I want to focus now on amendment No. 26, the objective of which is to find some way of ensuring the passenger has a voice on the board. The...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I have many hurdles to cross before considering any such role. Currently, however, I am a passenger on many of the services represented here. I want to ensure that the Minister is obliged to consider people using the services when selecting members of the board. Many of the representatives of groups such as Platform 21 or the rail users' group have relevant experience of the services and...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I will not press it but I ask that the Minister consider this point. The group that has least mention here is the passenger. I appreciate if the Minister and his Department could examine some of the provisions here on Report Stage and find a way of offering guidance to his successor that the passenger should be represented.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 28: In page 24, subsection (3), line 10, after "shall" to insert "publicly". Again, the motivation behind this amendment is accountability. It seeks to ensure that those using the services the DTA will co-ordinate their activities and that those involved in trying to influence it, such as Members of the Oireachtas, have access to the information the board considers when...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 30: In page 26, subsection (2), line 40, after "Authority" to insert the following: "but shall not exceed a percentage of the annual budget of the DTA to be specified by the Minister in regulations on approval from the Houses of the Oireachtas". We have much experience of outside bodies providing expertise and consulting services to the DTA or other bodies on how their...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I understand the point the Minister is making about the need to avoid imposing massive restrictions on the operation of the organisation. However, this organisation will have much power based on the decisions it will be making in the greater Dublin region. It will be set up and run by good people who deserve to be paid well for the job they are doing. We in the Oireachtas must set an...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 31: In page 27, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following subsection: "(5) The Authority shall be required to provide an account of the continuing necessity for the subsidiary to remain in being on the expiration of two years from the date of its establishment.". The Fine Gael Party has over the last number of weeks pointed, correctly, to the explosion in the...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: It is important that we try to make progress on this issue. Amendments such as this are known as sunset clauses. We must find a way of holding organisations that make important decisions to account for the way they spend their money. I appreciate the Minister's response. He stated there might be a problem whereby people would not apply for jobs with companies that may not exist in a...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 32: In page 27, between lines 44 and 45, to insert the following subsection: "(4) The Minister shall provide an account to the Houses of the Oireachtas on such policy directions and any matters related thereto.". As I have said many times in the course of this debate, the aim of this amendment is to ensure the Houses of the Oireachtas are informed about the policy...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: The rationale behind this is to find a way to ensure that the Dublin Transport Authority is subject to the full rigour of the Freedom of Information Act. My understanding is that this organisation is going to be set up so that it is not subject to the kinds of FOI requests that members of the public or Members of the Oireachtas may wish to have included. I understand why organisations such...

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 9: In page 15, subsection (5)(c), line 28, after "GDA" to insert the following: "and local authority Development Plans and Local Area Plans in force in the GDA". I wish to congratulate the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, on keeping his position as Minister for Transport, which I forgot to say earlier.

Seanad: Dublin Transport Authority Bill 2008: Committee Stage (8 May 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish the Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey, the best of luck for the rest of his term in office. There are two separate issues covered by these amendments. I will deal with the work that local authorities do using local area plans and the master plans and then the issue of the jurisdiction of the greater Dublin area, GDA, and the work the authority will do. One impressive aspect of this...