Results 6,221-6,240 of 7,765 for speaker:Maurice Cummins

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2007)

Maurice Cummins: The number one killer of young people in Ireland is not cancer or road traffic deaths, it is suicide. There is a need for an all-Ireland approach to this issue. Recently there have been calls for the establishment of a dedicated suicide research centre on an all-Ireland basis. The Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Mr. McGimpsey, is open to this idea. I ask the Leader to ask the...

Seanad: Ethics In Public Office (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (3 Jul 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I welcome the Minister to the House. Legislation such as this is necessary but raising the limits from €600 to €2,000 is ludicrous. The current requirement to disclose the acceptance of donations of even €600 is more than sufficient in my opinion. In the past ten years I probably received less than €1,000 in total donations and I find it incredible to think politicians on any side...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I join in the tributes to the Cathaoirleach, which are richly deserved. I also pay tribute to our own deputy leader and all other Members not seeking re-election to the Seanad. Drug smugglers seem to have gateway status in west Cork and along our coast, and it was only a stroke of luck that the 1.5 tonnes of drugs were not successfully landed. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law...

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I commend the Minister of State in introducing this necessary Bill which updates our Statute Book in a significant way. I also commend his officials and researchers on the large work they had to undertake before introducing this legislation.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Are schools exempt from charges? That issue has been raised on a number of occasions. Surely schools should not have to pay charges and should be classified as domestic.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I thank the Minister and his officials for bringing before us this important legislation which it was essential to pass before the change of Government.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I support these amendments. We are certainly not going to do anything from preventing the Bill from going through and we fully support the amendments. The Bill has been given a very interesting hearing in both Houses of the Oireachtas. We have been circulated with a list of the Acts mentioned in both Houses of the Oireachtas at all Stages. The first one on the list is the Fairs Act 1204....

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2007 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: It was about 40 years ago. When I tell my 19 year old son about pigs being outside the door, with calves down another street, he asks whether I am 90. That is beside the point, however. We fully support the amendments as put forward by the Minister of State. I welcome him to the House and wish him well in the coming weeks.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: It was very disturbing to learn today that several gardaí have been subject to Internet death threats from some of the many gangland figures currently active. The security of those men and women should be of paramount importance to us, and the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, must ensure that they who have rendered such service to the State and...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I welcome the Minister to the House, although I am sure he would prefer to be elsewhere. As the Minister has stated, the vast majority of these amendments are technical or drafting in nature and have been approved in the other House, with many tabled by colleagues. We fully support the amendments in the group.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: The area of group water schemes requires clarity which this legislation provides. I support these amendments.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 May 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I agree with the Minister regarding privatisation. There should be no question of privatising water supplies. On the matter of leaks in the system, when I first became a member of a local authority in Waterford more than 25 years ago, the council encouraged many of the people who had previously worked on the water supply to return and provide assistance. These individuals, who had retired...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation: Motion (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I fully support the establishment of the commission of investigation into the tragic and unfortunate death of Gary Douch in Mountjoy Prison. I assure the Minister I will refrain from making any comments on the case for the reasons mentioned by him. The Commission of Investigation Act 2004 is the ideal vehicle to allow Gráinne McMorrow to carry out her business quickly and efficiently,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I will not even entertain Senator Walsh's suggestion that the Minister will be back in office.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I move amendment No. 14: In page 21, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following subsection: "(2) Subject to subsection (3), where a person (other than a person under the age of 18 years)— (a) has been convicted on indictment of an offence specified in Schedule 2 (in this section referred to as "the first offence"), (b) has been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than 12...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I move amendment No. 20: In page 33, before section 32, to insert the following new section: "32.—Prior to the commencement of any section in this Part, the Minister shall make such changes and amendments as are necessary to the Judges' Rules and to the form of caution given to persons to whom this Part applies.". Amendment No. 25——

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Yes.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Yes. What I was seeking has probably been changed in another section. The Bill represents an ideal opportunity to examine the outdated judges' rules and to update them so they serve the interests of justice more fully. Perhaps the Minister would comment on that.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: This section deals with the establishment of a Garda executive management board. While I agree with much of the section, the requirement that a person should cease to be a non-executive member of the board upon being elected to the Oireachtas or a local authority seems to be part of a thread that is creeping through the legislation passed in these Houses. Local authority members and public...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: The Senator now has an opportunity to do something.