Results 15,021-15,040 of 18,734 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I will make the point in that debate that if one wants to have questions answered in the Dáil and if one wants direct parliamentary accountability, one cannot superimpose bodies between the Minister and the agency in question and say it will have no effect. I accept the point that has been made in this House that if this Bill has the potential to reduce accountability by the multitude of...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: If the chief executive is responsible to committees of the House, she or he will doubtless devise mechanisms to prevent physical attendance on every occasion when the House demands her or his attendance. Amendment No. 25, which inserts section 24, states, "Subject to subsection (2), the Chief Executive shall, at the request in writing of a committee of the Oireachtas, attend before it to give...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: While I understand the motivation behind this amendment, I would be foolish to accept it because the question of compulsory registration is being examined in the Department and the Land Registry. I propose to bring forward an amendment on Report Stage to deal with compulsory registration. Section 24 of the Registration of Title Act 1964 provides that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I agree there is a problem if people present documentation to the Land Registry which is false and does not represent the position on the ground. Short of asking Land Registry officials to go out with tape measures, theodolites and the like, it is difficult to see how it can be avoided. I do not accept the proposition that the Land Registry has nothing to do with checking the validity of a...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: This is a standard provision which deals with expenses incurred by the authority and the Minister in the administration of the Act. It replaces the expenses provision at section 28 of the Bill, which is being deleted.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: Amendment No. 7 is a standard provision which deals with the laying of orders and general rules made under the Act and the 1964 Act before both Houses of the Oireachtas. It replaces the provision at section 29 of the Bill, which is being deleted. Amendment No. 54 proposes an amendment to section 29 of the Bill. This section is to be deleted as a consequence of the establishment of the...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: This is a technical amendment arising from the establishment of the property registration authority to which I will return later. The amendment provides a new collective citation for this Act and the Registration of Title Act 1964. My intention is that a statute law restatement, incorporating both Acts, will be prepared to provide an accessible text for practitioners and the public in the future.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: This is purely a drafting amendment.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I said on Second Stage that the Government had given approval to my proposals for restructuring the Land Registry and the Registry of Deeds. I indicated that it was my intention to establish a statutory body to be known as the property registration authority. These amendments deal with the establishment of the authority, its functions, the holding of meetings of the authority, the staff of...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I agree that the authority's members should be people of considerable experience and wisdom. The new section 11(4) to be inserted in the Bill provides that the Minister must have regard to the desirability of their having knowledge or experience of conveyancing practice and procedure, business, finance, management, administration, consumer affairs or any other subject which would, in his or...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: Yes.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: The proposition being advanced implicitly by both Senators is that it is more just for the Central Fund of taxation to bear the cost of changes to a service rather than compelling its users to finance the changes. If the potential rainbow partners will permit me to put it this way, that is a high tax philosophy.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I do not believe that the Central Fund should always be resorted to in order to improve services. After all, the beneficiaries of improved services are the users. Delays at the Land Registry cost nothing for those who have no property, but they are an expense, inconvenience and a problem for those who want to progress with conveying property. The setting up of the registration authority...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: The transformation that is already taking place in the Land Registry represents good value for money. Some people see it purely as a stealth tax but it is more than that. It is an imposition designed to facilitate a badly needed modernisation drive. There is an infinite number of demands on the resources of the central Exchequer, including increased pensions, improved health services and so...

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: As Senator Brian Hayes was speaking, an image of former Deputy Brian Lenihan, who spoke about the tyranny of consistency, floated before me. Tomorrow in this House we will hear the opposite point being made with regard to policing, namely that it is important to have an independent body and not to have ministerial control.

Seanad: Registration of Deeds and Title Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: I will make the point in that debate ——

Written Answers — Crime Levels: Crime Levels (2 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: With regard to crime figures, on becoming Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, I arranged for the publication of headline crime statistics on a quarterly basis to improve the quality of information available to the public. While caution should be exercised in interpreting levels of crime between quarters, I am pleased to note that during my term of office as Minister, the quarterly...

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (2 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: It is my understanding that a significant amount of supporting documentation was absent when this application was submitted to my Department. My officials have written to the applicant in question requesting additional documentation to be supplied as soon as possible. Upon receipt of the requested documentation, the application will be assessed by my Department and a decision will be made.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (2 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: The information requested by the Deputy is set out in the table.

Written Answers — Residency Permits: Residency Permits (2 Jun 2005)

Michael McDowell: The person concerned arrived in the State on 14 July 2002 and applied for a declaration as a refugee. His application was refused following consideration of his case by the Office of the Refugee Applications Commissioner on 24 July 2002 and, on appeal, by the Refugee Appeals Tribunal on 28 November 2002. Subsequently, in accordance with section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999, as amended, he...