Results 761-780 of 1,683 for speaker:Derek McDowell

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I would like briefly to tease out an issue. The only discretion the board of the Dublin Airport authority will have will be linked to the capital reserves issue, which we discussed earlier. As the Minister rightly pointed out, the board of the authority will not legally be permitted to transfer some of its assets until the capital reserves issue has been sorted out. A board which is not eager...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: It is unlikely the airport authority would go so far as to refuse to divvy out the airports but it is possible that it might not take the other consequential moves necessary to make the airports viable. This is where the difficulty arises and it is in such a situation that the Minister might find himself tempted to intervene to direct a sale of assets.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I do not have a problem with making the Minister's case in that I am happy to have it put explicitly on the record that the Minister has the power to direct the sale of assets and would not hesitate to use it. That is the provision I wished to include and we are agreed that it is covered under the legislation.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I move amendment No. 15: In page 9, subsection (8), line 23, to delete "Costs" and substitute "All costs". This amendment deals with the costs of the restructuring operation. Section 7(8) stipulates that "Costs arising from the restructuring may be paid by the Minister, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance." The Bill represents a political decision by the Minister...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I am not sure that is reasonable. Perhaps the Minister could give us some indication of the level of costs involved and I presume the Department of Finance has performed some sort of risk analysis with regard to this. That the company is being broken up, assets and staff transferred, new systems established and some new staff employed to accommodate duplications in bureaucracy and...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, before section 1, to insert the following new section: 1.—(1) This Act shall come into operation on such day or dates as may be prescribed by the Minister. (2) Prior to the commencement of any provision of this Act the Minister shall prepare a detailed statement setting out the business case for the commencement of the relevant provision and such statement...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: We need to hear a great deal more than that from the Minister. The Labour Party is not concerned about whether the plans are called business plans, strategic directions or risk evaluations. We are concerned about whether the Minister knows what it is he is asking Cork and Shannon Airports to do. I would like an idea of what it is the Minister believes will be the brief given to, for example,...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I made a note of Senator Dooley's penultimate contribution when he said he would be opposed to Government management of the company. He appears to have changed his mind and is now saying that if Aer Rianta were inclined to give ARI to anyone other than Shannon, the Minister would intervene immediately to ensure it would not happen.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Of course there is, but one man's micro is the other man's macro. It is a crucial issue.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I will resist the temptation to score a point on that and want to make the point to illustrate a dilemma. Who makes the decisions, or are the decisions, in effect, already made? Senator Browne asked under what company ARI would come. There are other decisions regarding SFADCo properties in Shannon. I do not intend to take an aggressive approach because I appreciate the Bill will be passed. I...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Would that it were. I want to get a sense of a few of these strategic issues which are, in effect, decisions of the Minister — he may have already made them. The first relates to ARI. He was being disingenuous when he said it was a matter for the boards. Ultimately, it is a matter for him. The Bill gives clear power to the Minister to make decisions of that kind and to give a direction to...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Does the Minister see the potential rental income as being vital to the viability of the airport?

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Yes. Over the past few days I have read the Farrell Grant Sparks and Mazars report, which reviews the PwC report with which the Minister is more than familiar. It is damning in that it points out clearly that there is no existing business plan and states that it is highly unusual for a restructuring decision to be contemplated or finalised without outline business cases being made. Perhaps...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: Section 3 provides for the Minister for Transport to bear the expenses incurred in the administration of the Act with the consent of the Minister for Finance. What is the distinction between the costs of the restructuring, which is dealt with by a separate section, and the expenses incurred in the administration of the Act?

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Second Stage. (13 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: It is a small country. People choose to go to the nearest airport, by and large, or they use the service which suits them best. It is rare that they are attracted to a different airport because of a difference in price or because the lounge is a little bigger. I do not think that happens because they typically choose to go to the nearest airport in most circumstances. There may be exceptions....

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Second Stage. (13 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: It will be hard to follow that. I am in complete disagreement with almost everything Senator Morrissey said, which I suppose is a considerable relief to both of us. We will have time to tease that out over the next day and a half or so. I want to address much of the wishful thinking we have heard about competition and its nastiness, the monopoly and so on. However, it is appropriate to focus...

Seanad: Barron Report: Statements. (7 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I join other Members in welcoming the Minister to the House. It is useful to provide time for an expression of views from all sides of the House on what was, before Omagh, the worst single incident in the history of the so-called Troubles. I commend the work done by Mr. Justice Barron and prior to that by the late Chief Justice, Liam Hamilton. In the 30 years since the bombings there were...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: The Progressive Democrats got that one right.

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: I accept what the Minister of State said, that this is not within the scope of the Bill. I am not suggesting that huge bonuses should be paid at the end of any given year, but Senator Mansergh picked a good example in the EU Presidency. There would be nothing wrong with some tangible reward — nobody is talking about anything outlandish — being given to those who performed roles of...

Seanad: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (6 Jul 2004)

Derek McDowell: That is a good point.