Results 16,721-16,740 of 18,734 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I was voted down by a certain party.

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: That exact phrase is used in An Phoblacht today on the subject of Daily Ireland.

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: Somebody pays for it.

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I welcome this opportunity to again address Seanad Éireann on this topic. Members may recall that I last spoke here in this regard on 9 December 2003, a few days after a major conference which I organised as part of the public consultation process on the topic of defamation. Our debate today is on privacy and defamation, which though related are not the same thing. I said during our...

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: Exactly. The public are the best judges of these matters and they do not need a press council to speak on their behalf. On occasion I, and I have no doubt many others, feel a certain degree of distaste for individual articles or editorial decisions. While politicians have to develop thick skins, vulnerable people in society need not have to do so. It is in vogue these days to query the...

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: ——and record that he either responded to the facts and told one to get lost or denied them or that he did not respond to the facts. That then becomes the story, which is simply not an acceptable way to try to educate public opinion.

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: For some public figures, the situation in more recent times has become more complicated by security issues such as kidnapping or surveillance by criminal or terrorist groups. This must be weighted in the balance in the coverage of their activities. Newsworthy or profit worthy and information versus entertainment, essentially these are the choices facing the media in deciding on the extent of...

Seanad: Privacy and Defamation: Statements. (9 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: One of the founding fathers of the American Republic also said that if he had to choose between a society with a free government and an unfree press or one with an unfree government and a free press, he would choose the latter. I have always been of the opinion that while the latter statement sounds courageous and attitudinal, it is fundamentally flawed. The truth is that it is not possible...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I am preparing proposals to bring to the Government which will provide for extensive reform of the law concerning defamation, taking into account the work of the Law Reform Commission, the Commission on the Newspaper Industry, the legal advisory group on defamation and the public consultation process I initiated on publication of the group's report. Most of the responses received during the...

Written Answers — Ground Rents: Ground Rents (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy is aware that the Landlord and Tenant (Ground Rents) (No. 2) Act 1978 provides for a statutory scheme for the acquisition of the fee simple by the owners of dwelling houses. Part III of the Act provides a special procedure, operated at low cost by the Land Registry, whereby owner occupiers of dwelling houses may acquire readily and relatively inexpensively the fee simple in their...

Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy may be aware that the equal opportunities child care programme provides grant assistance towards the staffing costs of community and not-for-profit child care services which have a clear focus on disadvantage. I have been informed by the child care directorate of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform that the group in question has been awarded two separate annual...

Written Answers — Departmental Strategy Statements: Departmental Strategy Statements (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: The implementation and progress report of November 2004 was prepared by the programme manager in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. No other member of staff in the Department was directly involved in compiling the report, which consolidates progress reports in each area of responsibility under my remit as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The vast majority of...

Written Answers — Family Law: Family Law (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: The Family Law (Divorce) Act 1996 provides a range of measures to ensure that proper provision is made for the maintenance of spouses and any dependent children of the family. The Act encourages couples to think in terms of agreeing the key elements of their divorce in advance of any court proceedings. The court may order the attachment of earnings at the same time as it makes a maintenance...

Written Answers — Registration of Title: Registration of Title (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the registrar of titles that an application for subdivision in this case was lodged on 13 December 2004, dealing number D2004SM011130M refers. I have been further informed that a query issued to the lodging solicitor on 7 February 2005 and that the application cannot proceed until the query has been satisfactorily resolved. I assure the Deputy that the matter will...

Written Answers — Registration of Title: Registration of Title (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the registrar of titles that there is no record of an application pending on the folio in question at present. If the Deputy can provide me with the date of lodgment of the application and a Land Registry application number, I will make further inquiries on his behalf.

Written Answers — Prisons Building Programme: Prisons Building Programme (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 414 and 446 to 448, inclusive, together. At the start of 2004, I announced my intention to replace the facilities in the Mountjoy Prison complex with a new prison facility on a greenfield site in the greater Dublin area. In February 2004, advertisements were placed in the print media inviting interested persons to put forward potentially suitable sites for...

Written Answers — Visa Applications: Visa Applications (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: The visa applications referred to by the Deputy were refused on 23 November 2004. The applicants have been notified in writing by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform of the reasons for the refusal; namely, that the visa officer was unable to conclude that the applicants would observe the conditions of the visa and that insufficient supporting documentation was supplied. In...

Written Answers — Garda Investigations: Garda Investigations (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I have been informed by the Garda authorities that the Garda Síochána at Kilmainham Garda station is aware of the incident and that an investigation has commenced. I understand that no person has been made amenable at this time.

Written Answers — Garda Strength: Garda Strength (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I propose to take Questions Nos. 417, 453 and 454 together. I have been informed by the Garda authorities, who are responsible for the detailed allocation of resources, including personnel, that the personnel strength — all ranks — of each of the 17 Garda stations in County Meath as at 31 January 1997 and 3 February 2005 was as set out in the following table: Station 1997 2005 ...

Written Answers — Crime Levels: Crime Levels (8 Feb 2005)

Michael McDowell: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the Garda districts covering County Meath do not have the same administrative boundaries as the county, but that the number of headline offences recorded in the four Garda districts during 2003 and 2004 covering County Meath are as set out in the following table. *2004 2003 Murder 0 1 Manslaughter 0 0 Rape of a Female 12 11 Rape...