Results 12,981-13,000 of 13,214 for speaker:Pat Gallagher

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment. Section 36(9) enables the Minister to make regulations to prescribe detailed procedural arrangements for making water service strategy plans, including arrangements for public consultation and notification during the course of their preparation. Deletion of the word "public" in line 15 is a precautionary measure for the avoidance of any doubt that the Minister's...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As amendment No. 168 is consequential, I will first address the substantive issue in amendment No. 64. The purpose of this amendment is to ensure consumers of water services provided by sanitary authorities prior to enactment of the Bill will continue to receive such services from their water services authorities after enactment unless the Minister approves a water services strategic plan...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Amendments Nos. 65, 66, 68, 70 and 71 have several aspects which arise from a series of amendments to the definitions of water services and infrastructure in section 2. Amendment No. 65 inserts a definition of 'pipes' for the purposes of the section. The amendment arises from the series of amendments in section 2 to streamline and clarify the distinction between drains, sewers, water mains,...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 42 enables a water services authority to require that a premises in its functional area be connected to its waterworks or waste water works located nearby subject to the right of appeal to the District Court. Subsection (4) expands these powers to enable a water services authority to require a premises to be connected to the services of its contracted agent or that of an authorised...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The provision in section 42(5) is based on section 8(7) of the Local Government Sanitary Services Act 1962, which is being repealed and consolidated into this Bill. Subsection (5) enables a person who has been directed to connect his or her premises to a waterworks or waste water works to appeal that direction to the Circuit Court. The intention behind providing that no further appeal is...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Amendment No. 27 is consequential on amendment No. 107, so I will first deal with the substantive amendment. Amendment No. 107 expands the scope of the original section 61 to include, in addition to prohibiting the unauthorised connection of a premises to waste water services, an explicit prohibition on discharging anything into a sewer without the permission of the relevant water services...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As we are discussing amendments Nos. 28 and 170 together and as amendment No. 170 is the substantive amendment I will deal with it first. The purpose of the new section introduced by amendment No. 170 is to prohibit building over another person's water pipes without the consent of the relevant water services authority. It applies to building over water mains, sewers, distribution systems,...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: These amendments reduce from 12 months to six months the maximum term of imprisonment which may be imposed following conviction for a summary offence under the Act. The six months maximum term of imprisonment is in line with standard practice in all modern legislation. A 12 month sentence is considered to be outside the scope of summary jurisdiction.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: While I am aware Senator Bannon tabled this amendment in good faith, it is necessary to flesh out the matter. There are a number of situations whereby an offence committed may not come to light for some time. An example is damage caused by a breach of a duty of care regarding a discharge or damage caused to a pipe during building works which may not become apparent until some time after the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I have studied the amendment and appreciate the point Senator Bannon makes. I have consulted on the matter with the Office of the Attorney General. The purpose of subsection (3) is to remove any doubt as to the power of the Minister to amend or revoke a scheme of financial assistance. It is unnecessary to insert such a provision regarding the amendment or revocation of regulations as the...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: It is not a word peculiar to Donegal.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment to facilitate the smooth operation of the process for serving notices. As previously worded, a notice may only be served by one of the methods provided for in section 19(1), paragraphs (a) to (f). This restriction could conflict with the proviso in paragraph (f) which requires a notice to be served by supplementary means to verify service of a notice by facsimile...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Senator McCarthy's amendment would delete paragraph (f), which provides for e-mail or facsimile transmission of notices. It is difficult to accept the proposition that significant modern legislation, designed to place 1878 legislation — old 19th century legislation from the time of Queen Victoria — on a 21st century footing should intentionally exclude provision for the service of notices...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The purpose of this amendment to subsection (2)(b) is to broaden the scope of application of the power to halt a vehicle to include circumstances where there are reasonable grounds for believing that an offence is being or is about to be committed. For example, such an offence could occur if a bulk tanker illegally discharged its load into a sewer through a roadside manhole. It may not always...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 22 provides generally for the powers of authorised persons. This amendment specifically provides authority to enter premises for the purposes of performing any function under the Act in addition to obtaining information. It is considered that the existing wording of section 22(2)(c) was cast too narrowly in the first instance as it provided only for obtaining information. It did not...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 22(5) sets out in detail the powers of authorised persons on entering premises or boarding a vehicle, including at section 22(5)(i) provision for powers to carry out repairs. The purpose of this amendment is to enable an authorised person also to carry out other such remedial works as may be considered necessary to make good any damage to the surrounding area which may in itself be...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: To avoid doubt, this amendment expands the scope of the original section 22(5)(k) to enable the powers of authorised persons, for the purposes of investigating the connection of and ascertaining the course of pipes, to be applied to distribution systems, water mains and related accessories. The amendment arises from previous amendments to clarify references to various types of pipes under...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As currently worded section 22(6)(a), which enables an authorised person to direct the owner or occupier of premises to take corrective measures to remove a risk to human health or the environment, could be interpreted as applying only to water services providers regarding the water services activity carried out by them. This is not the intention of this subsection, which is intended to apply...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

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

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Section 27 provides for the transfer of functions from a water services authority to the Minister or other prescribed body, or from the Minister to a water services authority or prescribed body as required. It anticipates, for example, possible changes as arrangements are developed for implementation of the EU water framework directive. Such provision is desirable to leave flexibility for the...