Results 921-940 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

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

Dick Roche: The mistake suggests that the roadblock the Deputies wish to create in the Houses on this issue is little more than an ill-founded diversion. That they could get a basic aspect of their argument so desperately confused raises a fundamental question about the competence of their approach and their party's competence, somewhat similar to its confusion on stamp duty, which the Labour Party...

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

Dick Roche: Arguments can be made for and against the choice of a particular day of the week as the polling day.

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

Dick Roche: The Ceann Comhairle was not present at the time, but I mentioned stamp duty because two or three Deputies referred to it. I would have believed they would have been incredibly embarrassed given that they needed to climb down when Deputy Rabbitte pointed out the incompetence and sheer stupidity of their proposition last week.

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

Dick Roche: I can accept the Deputies' embarrassment.

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

Dick Roche: The flexibility in the law is better than Fine Gael's proposition.

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

Dick Roche: Those in favour of voting at weekends may say that a Friday, Saturday or Sunday poll would facilitate students who are registered in their homes, but who attend full-time education elsewhere and return home at weekends. Others would not support a Friday poll, as students might be travelling home for the weekend. As Deputies should know, workers and students who are unable to get to polling...

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

Dick Roche: Let us not be silly. A postal vote can be sent to people.

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

Dick Roche: It must be borne in mind that postal voting is provided for in respect of certain categories of person and was introduced specifically with students and certain workers in mind. Since 1997, full-time students registered at home who are living elsewhere while attending an educational institution in the State may apply for postal votes. Students need not be adversely affected by the timing of...

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

Dick Roche: It may also be argued that people have more leisure time at the weekend, so electors would have greater opportunity to vote at an election when they are freed from demanding work schedules. Equally, it could be said that, given busy modern lifestyles, the weekend represents valuable spare time for family, sporting and other pursuits and religious and spiritual time. It may be the case that...

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

Dick Roche: The idea of holding an election over two days would probably require a referendum. In general, it can be said that weekend voting would facilitate those electors who are normally away from home on weekdays and would reduce or eliminate school closures, a necessary feature of weekday elections. There are, equally, arguments against weekend voting. It can be said that weekend voting could...

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

Dick Roche: I will deal with the evidence from Europe but the Deputy could not even get the dates right for the 1999 and 2004 elections.

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

Dick Roche: I am not changing the argument, I am making the point that the basic thesis——

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

Dick Roche: Fine Gael always gets ratty when it is embarrassed. I am prepared to listen to any argument and I listened to the Fine Gael argument in silence. I am glad Deputy Gilmore has joined us because his colleagues in Fine Gael could not even get the dates of the two elections right, something that speaks volumes. The truth is that in attempting to accommodate one group of voters by choosing a...

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

Dick Roche: I was.

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

Dick Roche: That was the election that ran the most incompetent Government we had ever seen out of office.

Order of Business (24 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Taoiseach answered that question a few minutes ago.

Written Answers — Electoral Boundaries: Electoral Boundaries (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The Electoral Act 1997 provides that a Constituency Commission shall be established upon the publication by the Central Statistics Office, following each census of population, of the report which contains the final population figures classified by area. The appropriate detailed population statistics that are necessary to conduct a review of existing constituencies are contained in Volume 1 of...

Written Answers — Water Supply Contamination: Water Supply Contamination (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: Regulatory regimes have been in place for many years in Ireland prescribing strict EU based standards for drinking water quality and monitoring. Reports on Irish drinking water quality are regularly compiled by the EPA and are regarded as among the most comprehensive within the EU. In its latest (2002) Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in the Member States of the European...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The issues of adult entertainment and the regulation of associated venues require consideration because of the recent growth of this sector. Given the relevance of a number of different statutory codes to this matter, it is not clear that planning regulation alone can adequately support a local control regime with regard to these activities, and the interaction of these various codes needs...

Written Answers — Nuclear Plants: Nuclear Plants (5 Apr 2007)

Dick Roche: The threat posed by the large and complex nuclear facility at Sellafield has long been a concern to the people of Ireland. The actions of this Government have reflected that concern over many years. In 2001, and in response to the imminent commissioning of the MOX plant, Ireland instituted legal proceedings against the United Kingdom under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the...