Results 7,341-7,360 of 18,728 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: As the Deputy appreciates, an extensive review of tertiary paediatric services was carried out by McKinsey and Company on behalf of the Health Service Executive. It recommended the establishment of a single — not a dual — tertiary paediatric hospital in Dublin. It also recommended that the hospital be co-located with a leading adult academic hospital. Subsequently, a joint task group...

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: Either we agree there should be a single tertiary paediatric hospital in the Dublin area or we do not. There are two schools of thought. Some people have suggested there should be more than one such institution. However, the decision of Government and the HSE, based on the McKinsey report, was that there should be only one such institution. No matter where it is located, there will be...

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: There is no magic solution to that problem.

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am making a very simple point. Once we decided, based on expert advice, that there should be a single campus, which was based on the McKinsey report, it followed——

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: It was.

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: It recommended a single tertiary paediatric hospital in Dublin co-located with a leading adult academic hospital. I believe the Deputy will agree that once one accepts that recommendation, the hospital must be located somewhere and it will not be convenient for everyone. I am quite satisfied the selection process was objective and without interference. The imputation that McKinsey and...

Leaders' Questions (29 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy is forgetting the answer I gave, which was that a joint HSE-Department of Health and Children task group was established and the officials on that group decided to make a recommendation. It is wrong to impugn them and to suggest they were "got at" in some way without any evidence whatsoever of that.

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: I take the point that some people are cynical about environmental impact assessments and regard them as, if I may use the word, "influenced" by the pocket from which they are financed. In this case, however, there is a rapporteur as well, which is of some significance. Senator Jim Walsh mentioned the possibility of a local authority's views carrying extra weight. I think that depends on...

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: I will consider the possibility of laying the notice before the Houses of the Oireachtas between now and Report Stage. Generally speaking, there is a public advertisement process and it is unlikely that I would notify the public and that somehow the Dáil and Seanad would have what I may term a "senior moment" and not notice what I am doing.

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: I accept amendments Nos. 53 and 54. I am not satisfied that I should accept amendment No. 48.

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: This provision does not cover a designated centre. That would require different legislation. There are court houses beside Castlerea and Clover Hill and Wheatfield. I intend to put a court beside Thornton Hall because it makes sense for the reason that Senator Cummins mentions. Likewise I intend to examine the possibility of putting a Garda station near the major prison developments in...

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: Regarding the attractiveness of buildings, there must be a trade-off between solidity and durability and architectural appeal. Some aspects of Kilmainham Gaol are attractive such as the screen walls on the front. Likewise, Mountjoy Prison has some attractive architectural features, some of which may well be preserved. It is true that modern prison buildings are generally less interesting...

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Seanad is such a nice place compared with the Dáil. Here, it is suggested to me to take a trip to Italy, etc., while in the other House one is asked whether all one's trips are necessary.

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: I agree with what Senator Tuffy said about the women's prison — the Dóchas Centre. The pity about it is that it was designed by optimists who did not make it big enough. The prison is already overcrowded.

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: People are sleeping in portions of the building that were not originally designed as sleeping accommodation.

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: That is a sad fact. To return to Senator Cummins's point, unfortunately, that prison is vulnerable to drugs being smuggled into it. It is no exception to the rest of the Mountjoy complex in this respect. Drugs can be catapulted over the wall. There have been incidents of drugs being intruded into the prison in that way. Senator Cummins asked me whether there are drugs in prisons. There...

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: These three amendments relate to section 27. They deal with the question of acts done pursuant to Part 4 of the Bill. The amendments to this section are intended to ensure clarity. Amendment No. 50 removes the phrase "order made" from those acts of which the validity may be questioned. The reason for this is to simplify the provision as its inclusion was repetitive. For an order to be...

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: I fully appreciate the intention of this amendment which is to recognise the independence and hard work the current inspector has carried out. It is not usual, in respect of a statutory officer, to provide in law that a non-statutory officer shall be the first statutory officer. This is a matter to be decided when the term of the current incumbent comes to an end. I am not in a position to...

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: No, it does not mean that. To be appointed, one has to be appointed under the terms of the Act. The present incumbent, Mr. Justice Dermot Kinlen, is a non-statutory inspector whose term of office is due to expire in April 2007. It would not be proper for me to provide in legislation that somebody whose office is still ongoing will be automatically appointed by whoever is Minister for...

Seanad: Prisons Bill 2006: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2006)

Michael McDowell: If it is of interest to the Senator I propose to examine it before Report Stage.