Results 1,081-1,100 of 1,338 for speaker:Kathleen O'Meara

Seanad: Protection of the Environment Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (1 Apr 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Protection of the Environment Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (1 Apr 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I second the amendment. Question "That the figure and words proposed to be deleted stand," put and declared carried. Amendment declared lost.

Seanad: Protection of the Environment Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (1 Apr 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Protection of the Environment Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (1 Apr 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I second the amendment. Question, "That the words proposed to be deleted stand," put and declared carried. Amendment declared lost. Bill, as amended, received for final consideration. Question proposed: "That the Bill do now pass."

Seanad: Protection of the Environment Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (1 Apr 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I thank the Minister and his officials for the considerable amount of work that has gone into this legislation. It contains much technical detail which is obviously of huge importance to many people, as Senator Bannon pointed out. The commitment of the Minister in this regard is not questioned. Certainly, his openness to good ideas is not in question either. I certainly hope our position on...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: That is a total misrepresentation of what was said.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: The Senator got that from his own spin doctors.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: Senators on the Government side have trumpeted the extent of spending on health in recent years in defence of their position. A sum of €520 million was signalled in the recent Estimates, bringing the gross health allocation for this year to €8.9 billion, but it remains the case that the health service is under-funded. As a result, the national health strategy, welcomed widely on its...

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Ryan. I know the Leader has made an attempt to accommodate the many concerns raised by Members on this side of the House – deferral of Report Stage of the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill was an attempt to do this. That the Minister for Finance is prepared to come to the House today is due in no small part to the...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I second the amendment which I agree with and support my colleague's comments. It is one of many which get to the heart not only of the legislation but also what appears to be the ambition of the Administration to change the operation of the Freedom of Information Act 1997 and narrow and cut back severely on the level of information available publicly, specifically on Government decisions. We...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I second the amendment. Amendment No. 25 relates to section 20 of the principal Act. As Senator McDowell said, it deals with a specific point that has been made by the Information Commissioner and was referred to in the deliberations of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service. I thank the Minister for his clear response to my earlier question and for having injected an even...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I move amendment No. 26: In page 11, line 17, after "State" to insert "and in the opinion of the Secretary General the public interest would, on balance, be better served by refusing to grant than by granting the request". This amendment is similar to amendment No. 25 in that it relates to the same section dealing with the deliberative process of public bodies and Government. I suggest that...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: What harm has ever been done when information relating to a disagreement between the Minister and his officials has entered the public domain? Why is it necessary to throw the blanket of secrecy around the advice the Minister is receiving?

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I agree with Senator Maurice Hayes about the role of Secretaries General and the heavy responsibility being placed on them in this area of the deliberative process. I do not accept, however, that this amending legislation is about simplicity of administration. The Minister has pointed out that there can be a difference of opinion from one Department or Secretary General to another on when...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I saw it happen on numerous occasions, as I am sure the Senator has. We all know that there is selective leaking. As I have said to former colleagues, all one has to do to make a document desirable to journalists is to mark it "secret". Even if the information is not particularly interesting, they will want it and want to run with it. That is an incorrect exercise of power. One of the effects...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I move amendment No. 29: In page 11, to delete lines 25 to 29.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I move amendment No. 34: In page 12, between lines 28 to 29, to insert the following:

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I move amendment No. 35: In page 12, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "and (c) in subsection (2), by the insertion of 'confidential' before 'communication' in both places where that term occurs in paragraph (b), and by the insertion of 'confidential' before 'negotiations' in paragraph (e)."

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: I move amendment No. 36: In page 13, to delete lines 1 to 16.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (20 Mar 2003)

Kathleen O'Meara: Amendments Nos. 37 and 38 relate to the same general issue. With the agreement of the House I suggest they be discussed together. They relate to the issue of information obtained in confidence.