Results 11,701-11,720 of 13,264 for speaker:Pat Gallagher

Written Answers — Marine Safety: Marine Safety (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I have previously pointed out to the House that I am aware of the importance of providing emergency towing vessel (ETV) facilities to protect our coasts, including the possibility of sharing such services with the UK in relation to the East coast. There may also be advantages in having an EU-wide approach to this issue. An internal Working Group set up in the Department of Communications,...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I propose to take Questions Nos. 44 to 47, inclusive, together. Directive 2003/59/EC will make it a requirement for professional drivers to undertake a basic professional training course and continuous professional development. The Road Safety Authority Act 2006 confers responsibility for relevant elements of implementation of this directive to the new Road Safety Authority. The Authority...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I fully understand from where Senator Paddy Burke is coming in tabling this amendment but I would like to clarify the position and to refer to the word "emergency". The word "emergency" has deliberately not been defined in the section, as it would be impossible to draw up an exhaustive list of circumstances that would merit emergency status. The genuine emergency defence provision was...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I gave this matter serious consideration. I need not emphasise that drinking and driving in Ireland is recognised as one of the most serious contributory factors in road collisions. Evidence shows that the incidence of drink driving is increasing among the younger age groups. There is widespread acceptance among responsible motorists and society as a whole that driving under the influence of...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I indicated yesterday that I would consider this and I wish to clarify a point on which I may have given the wrong impression to the House regarding the fines Bill that will come before the House. This fixed charge does not relate to that Bill which will refer to fines in court, whereas this is an administrative sanction or fixed charge. Rather than have the Minister increase the fines on 1...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I hope that my amendment No. 6 will cater for Senator Paddy Burke's amendment. I have further considered bringing forward amendments to section 5 in light of Senators' comments on Committee Stage. The intention of the Bill in respect of the fixed charge and disqualification process is that where a person is found to have exceeded 100 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, or the equivalent levels...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I have further considered bringing forward amendments to section 5 in light of Senator Paddy Burke's comments on Committee Stage. My amendment No. 8 should address the Senator's concern. The issue here is that where a person is alleged to have committed an offence of driving, or being in charge of a vehicle, when the concentration of alcohol present in his or her body exceeded 100 mg of...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: There was some debate yesterday about the level of fines which I considered overnight, in light of Senator Quinn's Committee Stage amendment and the ensuing debate. I propose therefore to increase the fine on summary conviction from €1,000 to €2,000, which is a compromise as Senator Quinn had proposed raising it to €3,000. This has due regard for the seriousness of the offence and the...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: As I indicated on Committee Stage, I took the view this was not an unreasonable provision to include in the Bill as it seeks to control a charge which would be levied on an individual in order to meet a regulatory requirement. However, I recognise that there may be concerns that the imposition of such a control may dissuade service providers from offering the necessary training. Having...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: We discussed this on Committee Stage. I appreciate Senator Burke's concern that licence holders may not be aware that their licence has expired. He referred to the fact that motor tax reminders are issued by licensing authorities and suggested that driving licence reminders should also issue. Motor tax reminders are issued from the vehicle registration unit of the Department of the...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: In effect, this is a technical amendment to subsection (9) of section 103 of the Road Traffic Act 1961. Its purpose is to clarify that the amount to be paid is as specified in the notice and that any moneys paid in respect of a fixed penalty charge can be received by the transport officers as well as by gardaí or traffic wardens and that these moneys will be disposed of into the Exchequer as...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: That would not be customary or wise. My view is that the moneys should be paid by way of draft or postal order. However, I have no doubt that payments over the counter where a receipt could be issued could be facilitated.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment to remove a surplus full stop.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment to correct a printing error.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages. (15 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: I thank the Senators who took an interest in this important legislation. I am sure it will receive the same level of co-operation in the other House as it received from the Opposition parties in this House. We need to ensure that this important Bill is enacted before the summer recess. Several Bills relating to road traffic law have been enacted in recent years, including the Bill that...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: The purpose of the inclusion of Part 8 to the First Schedule to the Road Traffic Act is to make the offence of not having a valid certificate of roadworthiness for a commercial vehicle a penalty point offence. Part 8 removes the anomaly in this offence, as the equivalent offence for not having a valid NCT certificate for a car has been listed as a penalty point offence since 2002. The penalty...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: For the information of the House, I wish to advise that I intend to bring forward two amendments to this section on Report Stage.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: These amendments complement the powers being given to the Garda in the Bill to impound cars and commercial vehicles which do not have a valid NCT and certificate of roadworthiness, respectively. The amendments will enable the Garda to also impound EU registered vehicles that do not have a current certificate of roadworthiness from their home member state.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: Yes. I apologise, I am advised it must be obtained in the country where the vehicle is registered. The owners of the vehicles would have to register their cars in this country, which it is possible for them to do.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jun 2006)

Pat Gallagher: They can do so by way of transfer of residence or by paying the relevant importation fees in terms of VAT and VRT. They can secure a certificate in their country or they can register the vehicle here.