Results 561-580 of 11,242 for speaker:Noel Dempsey

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (8 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: One Secretary General and three Assistant Secretaries in my Department have retired in the past five years. The superannuation benefits accruing to each individual upon retirement are linked to the length of service and rate of final pensionable remuneration. The maximum number of years service which may be reckonable is 40 years. Lump sum benefits accrue at the rate of 3/80ths of...

Order of Business (8 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: The Labour Party has three months to develop policy.

Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 32 (8 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: He should write to the County Council.

Compulsory Purchase Orders (Extension of Time Limits) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: The amendment of section 217 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 is mentioned at the outset. That is the reference and the framework for it.

Compulsory Purchase Orders (Extension of Time Limits) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: The advice from the Attorney General is that we let the Bill go through as drafted. There would have to be an commencement order for that provision but it will not be commenced. When the planning and foreshore Bill comes through in the autumn, it will be deleted from the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill.

Compulsory Purchase Orders (Extension of Time Limits) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: No. The planning Bill will not supersede the 2000 Act. It may amend certain parts of it, as will this Bill, but the 2000 legislation will remain the Principal Act.

Compulsory Purchase Orders (Extension of Time Limits) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: Yes.

Compulsory Purchase Orders (Extension of Time Limits) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: An earlier signature motion will be passed by the Seanad tonight, after the Bill has passed here. The Bill will then go to Áras an Uachtaráin for the President to sign, of which she has been informed.

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: Many of these amendments from the Seanad are small and technical adjustments to the Bill. As road traffic legislation attracts the most litigation, we want to make this Bill as watertight and as accurate as possible. Seanad amendment No. 1 adds the definition of "category" to the list to provide clarity where the term is used in the definition of "specified persons".

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: This amendment proposes to extend the categories of licence for the definitions of specified persons associated with an offence under sections 4 and 5. I want to add categories C and C1, drivers of rigid trucks, to the other categories defined as "specific persons", as they were excluded in an oversight.

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: This amendment provides more clarity and plain English to section 3(2).

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: This amendment provides more clarity. "Use in the course of business" is a more modern phrase.

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: It is. If I understand the Deputy correctly, he is saying that if a specified person is working, a different limit applies to him or her than if he or she was on holidays or otherwise not plying his or her trade. That is not what this is about; rather, it changes an old way of describing-----

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: Yes.

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: This is not part of the group of amendments that were to be discussed together.

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: This section was the subject of much debate at various Stages in the Dáil and Seanad and a number of suggestions were made, which we have considered and which are reflected in the Bill. At all times we were conscious of the importance of taking legal advice on various aspects of the Bill; if I was not conscious of it before we started discussing the Bill, I certainly became so, because Acts...

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: I thank the Deputies for their comments. I concur with Deputy Coveney with regard to the reason this was included as it was. I have mentioned that this is somewhat inelegant in the way it is drafted, but we tried to tidy it up to make it clear. I am told that from the legal perspective we should generally ensure "may" matches "may" and "shall" matches "shall" and so on and so forth....

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: What that means is that the person must follow the instruction given by the garda on how to blow into the breathalyser. Due to the litigious nature of this legislation, gardaí are given training and instructions on how to instruct the person how to breathe into the breathalyser. Some Members have had the experience and know that the garda tells the person to breathe into the breathalyser...

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: These amendments do not change in any significant way the provisions of the section involved, but I am advised by the Office of the Attorney General that it is better to remain consistent with wording that has been tried and tested over time. Accordingly, these amendments present in a clearer and unambiguous manner the objectives of the section, which is to provide for the option of...

Road Traffic Bill 2009: From the Seanad (7 Jul 2010)

Noel Dempsey: On that last point, I do not know. A doctor might make a judgment that the person was not in a condition to give a sample. The default in all of this is the blood test, which is the primary test. However, the option is being left to return to other methods if, for some legitimate reason or other, it is not possible to do the blood test. On the question raised by Deputy Coveney, he is...