Results 1,401-1,420 of 2,099 for speaker:Ivor Callely

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: This amendment will allow the Minister to appoint a suitably qualified consultant to act as and carry out the functions of the chief investigator if the person holding that position is absent for a prolonged period of time, through ill health or otherwise. If the post of chief investigator is vacant at any point, this section will provide for the recruitment of a permanent replacement.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: I appreciate the Senator's perspective on this issue and I hope my response will satisfy him. Telling railway undertakings how often they should inspect and maintain their infrastructure and trains would be a very prescriptive approach. These undertakings are best placed to know how frequently such inspections and maintenance should be carried out. If we did prescribe these measures but were...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: We might be found wanting with regard to freight because it is not covered in the same fashion as passenger numbers are dealt with in section 69(c), which is concerned exclusively with passenger numbers. A rolling stock car will have one seat for one passenger or multiples of such. The railway safety commission can make regulations restricting the number of people standing in rolling stock...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: The Senator raised some valid points regarding this issue on Second Stage. I gave an undertaking to address the matter and progress has been made. Could the Senator inform me later on whether he has received the relevant information from my officials? Section 23 of the Transport Act 1971 provides for the apportioning of the costs of upgrading works at a level crossing between the railway...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: The case of someone maliciously blocking railway infrastructure is covered in section 118 of the Bill. Opening and closing gates, breakdowns and other safety issues are matters for the railway undertaking. I hope this clarifies the position.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: This straightforward amendment gives the Minister power to transpose a European directive on railway safety international law through regulations made under this Bill rather than using the European Community Act 1972.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: This amendment corrects an oversight brought to my attention by Members of this House. Senator Wilson drew my attention to the fact that there was no mechanism for a commissioner to be appointed as an inspector. This amendment corrects this oversight by providing for a commissioner to automatically become an inspector on appointment.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: I can see good reasons to accept this and I thank Senator Burke for tabling this amendment. I tabled two amendments on Report Stage in response to concerns raised on Committee Stage to address the balance between commercial and safety considerations. A happy medium must be struck. We would like to ensure that the railway undertaking would ensure the safety of persons in the operation of its...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: I thank Senators Mansergh and Burke for their contributions. It is well established that industries, particularly transport service industries, have developed well-established techniques to assess public user expectations of what is tolerable.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: It is important to draw the attention of Members to my comments on this matter on Second Stage. I went into it in some detail and I will not go over the ground I covered other than to draw attention to Parts 9 and 10, which set out the detailed regime for the testing of safety-critical workers. In particular, Part 10 includes provision for breath testing and for blood and urine tests...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: The Senator might have read in today's edition of The Irish Times of a drink-driving case which has been challenged. Regarding this issue, we are conscious of sensitivities. I understand there have been discussions at different levels involving management, staff and unions. On the Government side, these proposals were considered by the Attorney General, as I said on Second Stage. We are...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: The need for this amendment was brought to my attention by Members, as in some sections there was an incorrect reference to subsections. This is a technical amendment.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: I cannot thank the House enough, especially Senator Wilson, for bringing to my attention a number of areas where technical amendments were required. On this section, the Leader of the House brought to my attention, at my cost, that there was an omission in regard to the female gender in line 45. I am happy to correct that, not only for the Leader but for everybody concerned.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: This amendment relates to section 111(3). On the advice of the Parliamentary Counsel, I decided to rebalance the penalties for offences, thereby increasing the maximum financial penalty and reducing the maximum prison term. These are more appropriate penalties, as now stated. I am sure the Members will agree that this will give the system useful and appropriate flexibility.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: This amendment proposes to increase a financial penalty from €3,000 to €5,000, with which I hope the House will agree.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: These amendments relate to Part 12 which provides for serious offences by passengers and members of the public on a train or a railway property. On the advice of the Parliamentary Counsel, I propose a number of changes. First, for reasons of tidiness, I propose to delete the penalty provisions of sections 115, 116 and 118 and insert a new penalty section. Second, I propose to update the...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: This amendment proposes a new section providing for a new offence. The new section requires a person to immediately report any hazard to railway safety which he or she causes through some accidental or negligent act. I have in mind an incident in Selby in the UK some years ago where a Land Rover left the road and came to rest on the railway. This caused a rail incident. Other incidents have...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: I fully accept that point. What we require is good road behaviour, but also awareness and education in this context is fundamental. I accept it will be hard to police this provision. We are talking about awareness, education and co-operation.

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: I am delighted to be in the House to move this amendment because at the rate technology is going maybe in a couple of years' time I will be pushing buttons to move amendments. This is not quite going that far. It is a technical amendment to accommodate the commission to send by urgent notification to the railway undertakings, communication by e-mail as opposed to fax which is becoming...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (16 Nov 2005)

Ivor Callely: This amendment is necessary to accommodate CIE to increase the level of guaranteed borrowing power from a restricted £317 million which has been in place for over 20 years to €600 million. This increased borrowing limit will facilitate the speedier progression and management of projects by ensuring there would be an adequate cashflow facility available to the CIE group of companies,...