Results 1,081-1,100 of 7,082 for speaker:John Paul Phelan

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Second Stage (6 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I will attempt to address as many of the issues as I can. Many of the issues raised were similar. Senator Murnane O'Connor outlined her support for what is contained in this Bill. There was an exchange of views, particularly between the Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil Senators, on what to do with the two additional seats. In one sense, the whole argument is moot because the commission...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I do not propose to accept these amendments. Section 2 of the Bill does not remove the right of British citizens resident in the State to vote at elections to the European Parliament. Those rights are contingent on their continued citizenship of the European Union as set out in the treaties. I must confess that I got my European judgments mixed up. The judgment we are referencing in this...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: No. It will remain the same if Britain remains within the European Union. However, even if Britain is not benefiting from that classification, the classification will still remain the same.

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (6 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I regret it as well.

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I regret to say I will not be able to support the amendment. The amendment is superfluous in its wording, providing for "such other persons in the State as may be determined by law". Perhaps the Senator wishes to specifically identify British citizens. In regard to voting rights, the Houses are not restricted in prescribing categories of people by law and neither is the Minister. In that...

Seanad: European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (6 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I am not in a position to accept this amendment but I accept the point made by the Senator. We are carrying out an extensive exercise on reform of the register in general. Later this year, we will have a referendum on the issue of presidential election voting rights for citizens overseas. The report of the Seanad reform group recommends the possibility of extending the franchise to people...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Defective Building Materials (5 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I thank Senator Ó Ríordáin for raising this Commencement matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, who is in the other House. I acknowledge the extremely distressing and stressful circumstances faced by the owners and residents of buildings that have defects. In general, building defects are matters...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Defective Building Materials (5 Mar 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I do not accept that the Department is neutral, nor should it be. However, the Department and the Government have a responsibility to the taxpayer and they cannot open up a potential liability. There are more than 200,000 apartments in the country. A responsible Government cannot be in the business of being the first port of call for building defects. I am not particularly familiar with...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I move amendment No. 9:In page 6, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Short title, collective citations, construction and commencement 7. (1) This Act may be cited as the European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Act 2019.(2) The European Parliament Elections Acts 1992 to 2014 and this Act (other than section 6) may be cited together as the European Parliament...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: All 13 seats allocated to Ireland will be filled following the European elections if the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, either with or without a deal, on 29 March next. In this scenario, the amendments to the detailed count and notification rules will not require implementation. In addition, the amendments to section 11 of the European Parliament Act 1997 in respect of the...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: Now.

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I move amendment No. 3:In page 3, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following: "Amendment of section 15 of Principal Act3.Section 15 of the Principal Act is amended—(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):"(3) Subject to subsection (4), an area specified in the Third Schedule shall be taken to be that area as constituted on 1 September 2018.",and...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: For the purposes of holding elections to the European Parliament later this year, the cities and counties listed in the Third Schedule should be those that were in existence on 1 September 2018, when the European Parliament constituency committee was completing its report. The Local Government Act 2019, which was enacted on 31 January last, subsequently provided for a significant extension...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I move amendment No. 4:In page 3, after line 27, to insert the following:"(i) by the substitution of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (c) of paragraph (1):"(c) a form of statement indicating whether the candidate is—(i) a citizen of Ireland, or (ii) a national of a Member State, other than the State, and".".

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: I move amendment No. 5:In page 5, to delete lines 12 to 19 and substitute the following:"(c) in rule 6, by the deletion in paragraph (1), of "or the United Kingdom", (d) in rule 10—(i) in paragraph (2), by the deletion of "or the United Kingdom", and (ii) in paragraph (3), by the deletion of "or a British citizen",(e) in rule 18, by the substitution of the following subparagraph for...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: Wiser heads than mine do not know if there will be a delay and how long it will be. I understand the broader point he is making, however, which concerns the need not to create two categories of MEP. I do not think there is a danger of doing that. There is a difference between the Irish and European parliamentary systems. In an Irish context, representatives are elected on the day the...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: There is a bigger problem if there is a longer extension. Britain will then be required to hold elections for the European Parliament. The question Deputy O’Brien raised concerning Article 50 will also then be an issue. It is arising now more in the context of a second referendum being held rather than revocation. If Article 50 is revoked and Britain remains part of the EU, then...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: Yes, I took note of that. The registration authorities are the local authorities. One of the officials here reminded me about his elderly relative who does not have a passport. Once a person can establish that he or she has an entitlement to vote, he or she will be entitled to vote in the elections to the European Parliament. That is not dependent on having a passport. We use passports...

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: Equally, however, for citizens who have never held a passport, other documents, such as birth certificates, will be accepted by the authorities and all documents will be invalid.

European Parliament Elections (Amendment) Bill 2019: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Feb 2019)

John Paul Phelan: We have already asked the European Parliament and European institutions about when that information will be available. It will be after the European Council meeting on 22 March and 23 March. That is the possible timeframe but nothing is definitive yet. The language concerning citizenship is archaic and unusual. The phrase used is “the right to assert citizenship”. I did not...