Results 11,501-11,520 of 11,812 for speaker:Denis O'Donovan

Seanad: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (10 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I move: That Seanad Éireann, noting that the Government on 3 February 2009 nominated Mr. Dermot Gallagher for appointment by the President to be a member of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission and to be its Chairperson, recommends, pursuant to section 65(1)(b) of the Garda Síochána Act 2005, that he be appointed by the President to be a member and to be Chairperson of the Commission.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I rise to ask the Deputy Leader to convey to the Taoiseach and the Ministers travelling to the United States for St. Patrick's Day the severe plight of the undocumented Irish there. I know from a reliable source that many of them are now out of work, and if they show their faces they could end up in jail. It is becoming very serious because of the major downturn in the American economy....

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I commend the draughtspeople and the Minister of State on the proposed levy. It is a very good concept that might go unrecognised whereby the professions against whom complaints are likely to arise and proceed will have to pay a levy towards the upkeep of the ombudsman's office. I cannot but concur with Senator Bacik's point that a very small proportion of complaints is made against...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I have one final point I forgot to raise earlier when I got carried away on my issue about the high earners. It is mentioned in the Bill that the complaint must be made within six months. Perhaps I am confused in this. What worries me are issues we have come across in legal complaints where a person is not compos mentis and there is a time lag or a complaint has been initiated by an...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: Senator Bacik hit the nail on the head when she stated this section is the cornerstone of the Bill. I note the ombudsman is an additional layer of control over the legal professions. In the Solicitors Acts, which regulate the solicitor profession, there are substantial mechanisms along these lines and from my experience and knowledge, they are well utilised. Many solicitors have been...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: This is another important section. Here, the ombudsman can issue directions to the Bar Council or the Law Society following investigations. There is room for improvement in any system of investigation and once the ombudsman's office is up and running, in five or seven years, I would like to see it point out its successes before an Oireachtas committee. I heard the former secretary general...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I do not want to delay the Minister of State but I wish to express my gratitude to him for taking this Bill through the House. At the start, I should have welcomed him to the House. I was a close working colleague of his in the last Dáil and I am delighted to see he has been promoted. He is doing an excellent job and I wish him well in dealing with a delicate and difficult portfolio. I...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: Amárach ar 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: Senator Norris raises an interesting point. With regard to the Judiciary, the equivalent of a bar council, which was mooted some years ago, should have been set up. I do not want to cross swords with my learned colleague but having regard to the independence of the Judiciary as recognised in our Constitution, this ombudsman should probably cover only solicitors and barristers. However, I...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: ——qualified under the Law Society's rules and regulations or those of the Bar Council. A person may present himself as an attorney at law, which is a phrase set aside to cover solicitors in a more American type of jargon. It has happened in this country. An effort to pursue the company involved, which was not some Mickey Mouse operation, failed because the gentleman in question relied...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I accept that. In regard to barristers, solicitors and their clients, anybody can be a client of a solicitor but one must be introduced to a barrister by a solicitor. Perhaps further clarity could be provided in that regard because one cannot approach a barrister directly with a request to be represented in court. It is much more common now than 40 years ago for junior counsel to represent...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I am glad Senator Norris raised the issue of infallibility of judges. A Bar Council was enunciated eight years ago by a previous Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Ceann Comhairle, Deputy John O'Donoghue. It is a concept I have always supported, in particular given that I chaired a committee that examined matters in regard to a certain judge who was not infallible, as the...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: He lost all his dollars in the first venture and does not have the finance to pursue it.

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: It is good that the ombudsman will have to appear before an Oireachtas committee, at its request, on an annual or biannual basis. I am slightly concerned about this section of the Bill, which provides for the ombudsman's appearance before "other committees" of the Oireachtas. It needs to be teased out logically. There are 20 Oireachtas committees at present. If an agriculture-based...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I concur with Senator Buttimer that a six-year term is lengthy. Our experience of the ombudsman system, while relatively recent, has been a major success. As a practising lawyer and paid up member of the Law Society, I believe the establishment of a legal services ombudsman must be broadly welcomed as an extremely positive development. The role will be one of overseer and the ombudsman...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I seek a debate on the seafood industry. This issue is an old hobby horse of mine and I was prompted to raise it again by a statement made by the chief executive of Bord Iascaigh Mhara, Jason Whooley, at a conference in Galway last week. At a time when jobs are being lost, there is considerable potential along our coastline for the promotion of the seafood industry. In my neck of the...

Seanad: Report on Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann: Statements (25 Feb 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome the debate on this issue. Although I would probably be more at home speaking about ferries travelling to and from Bear Island, I am tasked with speaking on this matter.

Seanad: Report on Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann: Statements (25 Feb 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I acknowledge that the Government has spent considerable sums of money on the development of Bus Éireann's bus services. Like my colleague, Senator Donohoe, I lived in London for four or five years many years ago and I was a student in Dublin a long time ago. When I am in the capital every week I notice the quality of the bus fleet and hundreds of new buses are now operating on various...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (resumed) (11 Feb 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: I have listened to the Minister of State, but he is missing my concern. I do not wish to go around in circles, but Government policy is highlighted in the major report or high level review of commercial State ports. I have been saying ad nauseam that the report — I will read into the record the next day the parts of the report that concern Bantry and my amendments — takes no account of...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (resumed) (11 Feb 2009)

Denis O'Donovan: Subsequently, in the watch of a Government of which I was a member, there was a sale of the facilities on Whiddy Island. Over the past 30 or 40 years, irrespective of what Government was in power, the needs have remained the same. The island needs a decent pier that is accessible at low tide. The Minister of State has historical connections with Whiddy Island. Some years ago an elderly...