Results 12,381-12,400 of 12,596 for speaker:Willie O'Dea
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I will make out a copy of my speech and circulate it subsequently.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I do not have a script. I am reading what the masters of the maternity hospitals said.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I am not reading a speech. Will the Deputy accept my word for it?
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I will put a speech together and circulate it for the Deputy's information.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I do not have a copy.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I am reading a quote from the masters of the maternity hospitals.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: The Deputy has now taken up five minutes of my time.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: New citizens have the right to reside within the EU and their parents and, possibly, other relatives can apply to reside in the EU on that basis. They may be entitled to so reside depending on the law of each individual member state. It is even more bizarre that when those children reach child-bearing age, they can, in turn, confer EU citizenship on their children. Therefore, people who are...
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: Can that be correct?
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: No.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: The Opposition argument can be reduced to one simple proposition; that the issue is extremely complex and should not be rushed.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I did not interrupt the Deputy or his party.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I did not interrupt the Deputy's party leader, much as I was sorely tempted.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: The buzzwords are "complex", "confusion" and "difficulty". There is nothing remotely confusing or difficult about this proposition. While it is true certain aspects of immigration law are complex, this is not one of them. What is complex or confusing about the proposition that if a child is born to non-national parentsââ
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: I am not reading a speech, I am consulting notes.
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: What is complex or confusing about the simple proposition that a parent of a child born in Ireland should have resided in this country for three years before the birth to enable that child to qualify for Irish citizenship? As his party's spokesman on justice and a practising solicitor, Deputy Jim O'Keeffe will be very well aware that, judging from the volume of case law and material written...
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: For example, if a person with a wife and children dies without making a will, his wife is entitled to two thirds of his property and the children to one. If we proposed to change property law to change those fractions to half and half, three quarters and a quarter or 100% to nothing, everybody could understand the proposal. It is a simple aspect of land law just as this is a simple and direct...
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: Even before the British Government's statement it was evident the argument was threadbare. I refer to a letter to The Irish Times by Mr. Tom Hadden on 14 April. Mr. Hadden who is an expert in this area stated quite clearly that there was no problem. What Deputy Rabbitte says about various soccer players and other sports stars is beside the point. It could be said equally of any other EU...
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: Deputy Costello mentioned the passports for investment scheme. Every Government, including those in which the Labour Party participated, operated the scheme. It was a Fianna-PD Government that in 1998 finally abolished the scheme. Deputy Rabbitte, who was very vocal on the matter this morning, sat at the Cabinet table for three years in a Government that operated the passports for investment...
- Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Apr 2004)
Willie O'Dea: The next claim is that a constitutional referendum is very complex and that we got it wrong in the past and must live with the consequences. When did that happen? The Constitution has been in existence for less than 70 years. During that time it has been amended on no less than 22 occasions. Regarding 21 of those there was not a scintilla of controversy or criticism. The only amendment to the...