Results 5,881-5,900 of 7,765 for speaker:Maurice Cummins

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: Will casual workers be included?

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: I move amendment No. 4: In page 11, line 49, to delete paragraph (c). We addressed this issue under section 8. At the risk of repeating myself, this section deals with local authority members. Reducing from three to one the number of local authority members on the boards of port authorities, with the consequent loss of their local and business knowledge, is a retrograde step for all...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: Is that copperfastened?

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: A political commitment is not worth much after listening to the budget, with all due respect.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: I have one point for clarification. The Minister of State indicated the Minister made a political commitment in this respect. Is it possible for this commitment to be included in the Bill on Report Stage? If the Minister has indicated it is his intention to appoint a local authority member, it should at least have some specific mention in the Bill rather than being a political commitment.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: We know what political commitments are. If it is the Minister's intention to have a councillor involved in this way, the provision should be in the Bill and the Minister should introduce it on Report Stage. I will not labour the point further but I hope to see this political commitment included in the Bill through a Government amendment on Report Stage. Otherwise, we will treat the...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: No. Does the Minister of State have something to say?

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: I know.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: It is the same as in County Waterford.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: The reports of the companies are available in the Oireachtas Library.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: Will it be the number of employees directly employed by a port company? Some companies may have subsidiaries or there may be individuals, such as stevedores or whomever, involved in contract work. Will the latter be included in the figures or will it just be direct employees of a port company? This issue is particularly relevant in the context of voting strength and representation.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: I was chairman of the Waterford Harbour Commissioners when it had 26 representatives on its board. The Harbours Act 1996 reduced that membership to 12 members, correctly because it was to become a commercial body. Of the 12, three were local authority members, one each from Waterford City Council, Waterford County Council and Kilkenny County Council. The Minister of State claimed the...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: There has been much debate about fairness recently with the medical cards for those over 70 and so on. There is no fairness in a section that will exclude local authority members. I am calling for fair play for local authority members. Will the Minister change the term "may" to "shall" for a start and return to having three local authority members on a port company's board?

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: Were there were local authority members on those boards making those recommendations?

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: It is not necessarily right.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: Rightly so.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: Perhaps we should suggest that members of these board be elected rather than selected. Then we would see how many of the experts will want to go on to the board if they must put their names before the people, which we and local authority members must do every five years. It is a dreadful attack on local authority members. It is an attack on the public who put members on the boards to...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: Will the Minister clarify his comments? He said that local authority members were there when these reports were being compiled. Did these consultants speak to local authorities about representation on these boards?

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: That is probably the reason they are doing so well.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Maurice Cummins: I move amendment No. 2: In page 10, line 4, after "the" where it secondly occurs to insert "written". This amendment seeks to insert the word "written" before the word "consent". It is a reasonable request and I hope the Minister of State will accept the amendment.