Results 32,921-32,940 of 33,049 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

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...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for his reply. I take his point regarding amendment No. 9. He is correct to say that we should not be in a situation where a local area plan would be in conflict with a city or county development plan. The thinking behind this amendment was in tandem with delivery of local area plans to try to deliver integration of land use and transport and it therefore was...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 12: In page 16, subsection (8), line 7, after "with" to insert "and have regard to the proposals of". This amendment refers to one of themes we discussed earlier. A recurring theme in the discussions that have taken place in the short period I have been a Member of the Seanad is the question of where all the power has gone. We are faced with very severe problems and...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I am prepared to withdraw these amendments on the understanding that the Minister will deal with this on Report Stage. My objective is to ensure that the consultation process between the transport authority and the various agencies is meaningful and will influence the authority's decisions. The Minister's suggestion is welcome.

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

Paschal Donohoe: I support these amendments. Senator Ryan's proposals reflect what has already been initiated by the Department in terms of consultation on a sustainable travel strategy. It is important to listen to the views of communities and individual commuters on how the issues they face can best be tackled. The strategy document the Minister has put out for public consultation will prompt many...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 14: In page 16, lines 37 to 43, to delete subsection (12) and substitute the following: "(12) The Minister may, in relation to a draft transport strategy submitted to him or her— (a) approve the draft, (b) approve it with modifications, (c) instruct that it be resubmitted to him or her in a modified form for approval, or (d) refuse to approve it. In all cases the...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for his response. I understand the powers of the office he is privileged to hold, and I understand the need to ensure power is sovereign and not diluted in any way. However, he outlined that the structure of the Dublin transport authority being accountable to the Minister and the Minister being accountable to the Oireachtas equalled the DTA being accountable to the...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 18: In page 18, subsection (9), line 17, after "it" to insert "with specified target timelines for delivery". The Government, in particular, will be held to account by the Opposition in the coming years on the issue of ensuring that where large sums of taxpayers' money are spent on projects, those same projects are delivered on time and within budget. I remember clearly...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 7: In page 14, subsection (1)(d), between lines 37 and 38, to insert the following: "(ix) development and implementation of a cohesive cycling strategy.". A point I made in respect of other amendments was that this organisation will have immense power in terms of its ability to intervene and deal with transport and commuter issues in the greater Dublin area. One of the...

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

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for his response. He has acknowledged that we are providing for many different modes of transport. I want to ensure that cycling is specifically mentioned as one of these. He made a fair point that we need to ensure the new organisation is not overloaded with too many priorities that could conflict with each other. However, it is important that cycling is mentioned,...

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

Paschal Donohoe: My understanding of what the Minister said is that on Report Stage he will come back and either in section 11 or section 71 make specific reference to the need to facilitate cycling and walking strategies in the greater Dublin area. If that is what the Minister is saying I am happy to withdraw this amendment.