Results 10,621-10,640 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: After reading the Minister of State's statement, I acknowledge her points. I will not be pressing the amendment. I accept that this is an extremely difficult thing to have to do and, as the Minister of State rightly says, it would have to involve extremely exceptional circumstances for a matter to go the High Court. It would be where the person had lost his or her testamentary capacity,...

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Minister of State for her response. As she indicated, the Bill, as initially published, included a provision similar to that proposed in amendment No. 146. However, the proposed measure was subsequently deleted. She is correct that making changes to wills is a serious matter, which must only be permitted in extremely important circumstances. The Law Reform Commission...

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: While I hear what the Minister is saying, I want to make it very clear that at the very heart of the Bill is a very important person, namely, the director of the decision support service. The functions under the Bill have been greatly expanded, which I welcome. There are very positive and important aspects of the legislation which everybody wants to pass and I very much welcome it....

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: While I respect what the Minister of State has said, I profoundly disagree with her statement that there would a perception of a political decision if the Minister of the day accepted a recommendation from the Public Appointments Service of a person for appointment to the post of director. It would not be, given that it would come from the Public Appointments Service. This is how it should...

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the clarity that the Minister of State intends to bring to the issue, particularly with respect to amendment No. 128. I also welcome her commitment, which I do not doubt, to have it included in the legislation that is about to be published. I acknowledge that absolutely, but there are issues that need to be ventilated at this stage. The first point is that the European Convention...

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome the change the Minister of State has accepted in the law. I am not exactly clear on the details, but I absolutely accept her integrity and commitment to ensuring that chemical restraint for control and purposes other than medical purposes will no longer be evident in any of our homes or institutions of care throughout the country. I support the views expressed by Deputies opposite...

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: Hear, hear.

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is extremely helpful. I thank the Minister of State.

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: Hear, hear.

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: Sorry, Acting Chairman, perhaps I have the wrong list of amendment groupings. I want to speak on amendment No. 142, if that is in order.

Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Bill 2013: Report Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: Amendment No. 142 is particularly important. It deals with the question of outlawing chemical restraint. The amendment states:Nothing in this Act shall be construed as authorising any person to administer to a relevant person any medication for the purpose of controlling or modifying the relevant person’s behaviour or to ensure that a relevant person is compliant and not capable of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: National Library of Ireland: Chairperson Designate (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: I welcome Mr. Shovlin and congratulate him on his appointment. I would be a bit like my colleague, Deputy Murphy. I am an enthusiast in terms of digital access to media and particularly the National Library. I congratulate the library on the 1916 papers it has produced online. I have used the 19th-century baptismal registers to trace a relation of mine who, as I discovered, fought in the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: National Library of Ireland: Chairperson Designate (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: I do not necessarily agree with everything Mr. Shovlin said there. The point I was making was that from the point of view of the consumer who wants to find out something from the past, I would put the emphasis on inclusivity. Most of the publications the library has in its 138-year history would be out of print and would not be available generically anywhere. Unless they are digitalised on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: National Library of Ireland: Chairperson Designate (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: What is the library's percentage that is digitalised at the moment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: National Library of Ireland: Chairperson Designate (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: There is obviously a huge job to be done there. I would think that is a very important task and I recognise the library's commitment. I did not think the figure was as low as that. That shows how out of touch I am.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: National Library of Ireland: Chairperson Designate (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: The other issue is newspaper records. I have been looking atThe Brooklyn Eagle, a newspaper that was printed in New York in the 1860s. It is a fantastic resource. The digitalisation of newspaper media is top class in the case of that newspaper. It is hugely important to have all of that data and the copies of all those newspapers dating back probably 200 years. It is a huge potential...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: National Library of Ireland: Chairperson Designate (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: After this meeting, could Mr. Shovlin circulate an analysis from the National Library on what his plans and needs are?

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Garda Strength (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: 372. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if she will urgently review Garda Síochána strength in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36223/15]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Visa Applications (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: 418. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality the position regarding an application for a visa by a family (details supplied) in County Louth; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36111/15]

Written Answers — Department of Health: Infectious Disease Epidemics (20 Oct 2015)

Fergus O'Dowd: 437. To ask the Minister for Health the precautions that will be taken to prevent Legionella contamination in a hospital (details supplied) in County Louth; the position regarding the shower heads in the hospital; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36149/15]