Results 901-920 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Deputy Gilmore said the recommendations were published a year ago. They were published four weeks ago.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The task force was established in 2006.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Deputy Enright should go out to Tallaght and see what Senator Brian Hayes is doing.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: To what year did Deputy Enright refer?

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Really?

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: On a Thursday?

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I wish to pick up on Deputy Connaughton's point. I hope the people have been listening to this debate. If there was ever a motion that illustrated the crass and bizarre incompetence of Fine Gael, it is this one. Did the Deputies not check their diaries or do they not know that the dates mentioned were Fridays? Are they a crowd of clowns?

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: No. The Deputy stated: "In 1999, the European and local elections were held on a Thursday with a turnout of 50.21%."

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: He went on to claim that when the 2004 local elections were switched to a Friday, "the turnout rose dramatically to 58.58%." Does he ever check the facts?

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: In 1999, 11 June was a Friday.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: In 2004, 11 June was also a Friday.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: It is not what the Deputy stated. He claimed that the first was a Thursday and the second was a Friday and that the turnout was higher at the second election because it had been switched to a Friday. I will read the sentence again, as there is no point in the Deputy denying what he stated.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I will read from Fine Gael's website, which was helpful. It states: "In 1999, the European and local elections were held on a Thursday with a turnout of 50.21%. However, when the 2004 European and local elections were switched to a Friday, turnout rose dramatically to 58.58%." The Deputy's problem is that both elections were held on a Friday.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Deputy's thesis is based on a fallacy. I checked the dates, which were Friday, 11 June 1999 and Friday, 11 June 2004. If the Deputy is putting forward a serious thesis, the minimum he should do is research it. I would not be as smug as Deputy Enright in addressing an issue such as this.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: This is a serious issue and if I could not get the basic facts right, I would not be as smug as Deputy Enright.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: I am prepared to listen to any logical argument, but an argument based on a confusion of the most fundamental facts is bizarre.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Fine Gael has demonstrated its complete and utter incompetence as a party.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Since I did not want to interrupt Deputy O'Dowd, I asked Deputy Enright whether she was sure about the dates. She dismissed my question arrogantly. I gave her a hint to leave her off the hook.

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: While specific provisions in the Constitution relate to the dissolution of the Dáil, the day and duration of polling is a matter for the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. We do not have the type of information to support Fine Gael's thesis, a second element on which I will speak later. The Electoral Act 1992, as amended, provides that a poll at a Dáil election...

Electoral (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: A mix-up in dates would be embarrassing, but perhaps Deputy O'Dowd has more brass neck than I give him credit for.