Results 14,501-14,520 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: If we have a right to live at peace within our community, we have a corresponding duty to ensure that all our actions are compatible. As parents, we must bring up our children to respect those things. In the way that we behave towards others, we owe duties as well as simply claiming rights. Too much of today's political debate consists of people attempting to categorise their demands and...

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: People say that what they want is their right and that others owe them the vindication of those rights. If I am to accept Deputy Jim O'Keeffe's amendment, I propose to replace the word "respecting" with "vindicating".

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I am satisfied to do that. However, this would leave me with a slight conundrum regarding what should happen to subsection (4).

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: If the House is willing to accept a modification to Deputy O'Keeffe's amendment No. 22 to read "vindicating the human rights of each individual" and a corresponding deletion of subsection (4), I can live with that. To retain both would seem like poor draftsmanship, involving a repetition of what is said in the top paragraph at the bottom paragraph. If there is a consensus in regard to...

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: The use of the word "citizen" would exclude persons such as asylum seekers.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I will have that amendment written for Deputy O'Keeffe in a moment. In the meantime, if the Chair permits, we can proceed to discuss the subsequent amendments.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: It is a pity the Deputy did not.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: The certified text is now available.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: Yes.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: No, we will leave "individuals".

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 22: To delete "respecting" and substitute "vindicating".

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 23: In page 11, line 30, to delete "Government" and substitute "State". These are technical drafting amendments advised by parliamentary counsel. While references to "Departments of Government" and "Departments of State" are to be found in various statutes, parliamentary counsel's preference is for "Departments of State" to be used. It is the modern usage.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: It is at 96%.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: When one wishes to fill up time, it is good to travel around Dublin.

Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed). (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: Deputy Ó Snodaigh must have Ulysses in mind.

Paramilitary Activities. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: The fifth report of the Independent Monitoring Commission on the continuing activities of paramilitary groups, submitted pursuant to Articles 4 and 7 of the international agreement establishing the IMC, was published last month. This report, as with previous reports, sets out, inter alia, an assessment of the current activities of paramilitary groups and details incidents of violence and...

Paramilitary Activities. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: ——and more than 1,000 new gardaí per year will be recruited over the next three years to bring the strength of the force to 14,000, as promised in the programme for Government.

Paramilitary Activities. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: There are reasons to believe the Provos are engaged in a process of consultation on how the entire movement, that is, the IRA and Sinn Féin, will address the new situation created by the political circumstances obtaining in Northern Ireland, the fact that they were discovered to be the masterminds and perpetrators of the Northern Bank robbery and the money laundering in the South and the...

Paramilitary Activities. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: It is difficult to be precise on numbers because, if we knew the exact figures, many of our problems would be solved. It is fair to say that there are between 1,000 and 1,500 active volunteers in the IRA. None of the dissident groups would have many more than 150 people attached to them. In terms of timeframes for this, obviously, the sooner these decisions are made the better. However, they...

Crime Levels. (23 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I am informed by the Garda authorities that from 1 January 2004 to 13 June 2004, six murders were recorded as being committed using a firearm. In the period from 1 January to 22 June 2005, nine murders were recorded as being committed using a firearm. While I have repeatedly urged caution in the interpretation of statistics, particularly statistics covering comparatively short periods of...