Results 7,181-7,200 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: That is a fair and interesting question, which is another way of saying that I am not sure. When the Minister is here tomorrow, the Senator might ask him then. I cannot see how the Freedom of Information Act could be used in a way that would have an inimical or frustrating effect on the work of a commission. The Freedom of Information Act provides for the release of information with certain...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: In fact, bigger crowds make for even more spoiled broth. Senator Brian Hayes is correct. The fault with tribunals and the fact that tribunals have appeared, in the opinion of many, to go off the rails, is due to the imprecision and catch-all nature of terms of reference. The Senator made a cogent argument in favour of the case I was making because he then referred to the tick-tacking that...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: Amendment No. 10 touches on the issue.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: The Senator made a cogent point as regards the nature of the investigations to be carried out by the commissions. Commissions of inquiry will not reject contested evidence and come to a view that one person is definitely telling the truth on an issue and another definitely lying. It is specifically provided in the statute that people identified in a report of a commission of inquiry must be...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: As regards the question on funding, the Minister for Finance would be required to sanction funds in the normal manner. The second question referred to section 3(4), which provides that a commission may be established even if the matter considered by the Government to be of significant public concern arose before the passing of this Act. This could not be clearer. One of the commendable...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I take issue with Senator Hayes on that point. The reality is that we may encounter issues in the future which require more speedy treatment in the public interest than is likely to occur under existing arrangements. One can speculate as Senator Hayes did very well when he observed that there may be matters in some of the Mahon tribunal's modules that could be more appropriately examined...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I was fascinated to hear the explanation of these amendments as I was unclear of their purpose but I understand Senator Hayes's point. One of the benefits of this Bill is that it written in the clearest English possible and it is easy to understand what it is all about. The term "a particular matter" which it is proposed to incorporate into section 6(2) is vague, imprecise and unfocused. In...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I acknowledge the issue involved but it would be disingenuous of me to say I will take it on board and consider it between now and tomorrow morning because that is not possible. I acknowledge the point made by the Senator but the wording of the amendments introduces dangerous levels of vagueness into a precisely drafted section. The question of somebody being cute enough to apparently...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I take the point and I understand the Senator's concerns but the wording of the amendments will not improve matters. I cannot accept them and I do not want to give an undertaking that cannot be met.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I want to deal with Members and, more important, the House in good faith. I cannot accede to the request.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I thank the Senator for raising these two important questions. The legislation will come into force on enactment. The second question confuses two issues. The reference to terms of reference in the section relates to the commission established under the legislation and that is separate to anything that will happen if Judge Mahon's proposal is taken up. My caustic comments about tribunals must...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: That issue is separate from this legislation. The reference to terms of reference relates to the commissions, not to tribunals.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: Yes. Issues relating to the tribunal are set out under its terms of reference. As Senator Brian Hayes said, an issue could come to light under those terms of reference and may fall within the remit of this section. However, there is no crossover between both terms of reference. They are separate.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: No, this refers to the commission's terms of reference and to something that may happen in the future.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: Yes. It refers to a tribunal being appointed to examine some matter which is under investigation by the commission. To really confuse the issue, it is actually the reverse of the case Senator O'Toole mentioned. He was talking about whether we would use the powers in section 6 to deal with a situation which may or may not arise at the request of one or other of the tribunals. The answer to...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I am told the Senator's question is well focused because it means that if one appoints a commission that has three members, one will still have one commission, but the three individual members can conduct separate elements of inquiry by way of efficiency and promoting speedier inquiries.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: The Senator has a sad life.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: I am told that in other cases the senior legal people, the barristers, have had a certain monopoly in these areas. This is to make it absolutely clear that a solicitor would suffice as opposed to requiring that people in silk automatically descend on the commission.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: This is a belt and braces approach. There has been a feeling that when something goes to legal representation, it always seems to be barristers who become involved.

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Dick Roche: It is not to satisfy them but to make it clear that it does not need to be gowned and bewigged gentlepersons descending en masse. A more lowly form of legal eagle, the solicitor, will also suffice. I take the Senator's point that there are many groups with qualifications and they are not necessarily people who have come through the Inns or the courts. I do not want to be facetious — this is...