Results 17,161-17,180 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (9 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I will deal with that last point. Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas have absolute privilege as a matter of constitutional law and cannot be impugned in the courts for what they say in either House. There are strict controls over how that privilege is managed and Members cannot lay waste all around them because they are feeling malicious and want to get even with a few people. We must...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (9 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: In some cases the chair of the committee may decide that if the discussion continues on certain lines, he must exclude the public because he or she does not wish to have a person's reputation discussed in public. I do not want a situation to arise where a majority can trample down somebody's rights and force the committee down the wrong line. For example, if 51% of the members decided to use...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (9 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: Again, that can be dealt with in guidelines.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (9 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I take quite seriously the point made by Senator Ryan. If it were to be read into this section that these meetings could only take place on a Monday or Friday because Members of the Oireachtas would be liable to attend the Oireachtas on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, that would be somewhat retrograde and would be a constraint. My intention — maybe I have not achieved it in the manner...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (9 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: ——at the drop of a hat and attend a meeting if that is agreed but a Government Deputy or Senator is much more constrained in what he or she can or cannot do.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (9 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I agree. I do not think we should be too idealistic about this. I will consider that point again. It is not that I want local committees to be dominated by public representatives who are Oireachtas Members; I did not want the end of the dual mandate to mean that nobody in these Houses would ever have experience of these committees or have any input in them. I will consider the matter further...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: Perception is very important. I am not sure if the Director of Public Prosecutions is prohibited from joining a political party. Perhaps civil servants are not so entitled. There is no law which states that a judge shall not be a member of a political party but there is clear legal convention that it would be a sacking offence if he or she were to join one. The same applies to gardaí. They...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: This is a fairly straightforward section to delete paragraphs (b), (c) and (d) in section 16 and substitute the following paragraphs: (b) the Minister for Finance; (c) the Equality Authority; (d) the Human Rights Commission, (e) the Standards in Public Office Commission and (f) the Ombudsman Commission. It is to expand the number of people who should be consulted in the context of the process...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: The Minister, Deputy Cowen, is an ethician of huge standing, as the Senator is aware. The idea is that the Department of Finance has——

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: It is, yes, and it has a policy making role in regard to codes of ethics throughout the public service.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: No. Senator Brian Hayes is correct. The Department of Finance is the line Department, to use the phrase it always uses about the rest of us, for ethics and all of that area. It is in that capacity that the Minister is being added.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: The omission of the material contained in subsection (30), which is a ministerial amendment, was done inadvertently. Although people may think it was deliberate, it was an inadvertence pointed out to me by ICTU, which came to the Department. When it was pointed out to us we realised it has simply slipped off the word processor. That is the explanation. There is nothing more sinister to it. In...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: The omitted material that fell off the edge of the word processor covers that and would authorise the Minister to authorise membership of such an association.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I will not get involved in this argument. A saucer of milk will have to be produced. I welcome Senator Leyden's comments. I have indicated to the representative associations that my officials will meet them between now and Report Stage.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: We have discussed the idea of the geographical presence of gardaí. However, giving cash grants to live in RAPID and deprived areas is not a way to achieve that end.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I mean rental supplements. It would be desirable to have members of the Garda Síochána resident in every neighbourhood, if that were possible. However, it is not that easy. Gardaí are free to choose where they want to live. It is not that easy for somebody in the Phoenix Park or St. Stephen's Green to think up some scheme to encourage them to live where they do not want to live. If we were...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I do not think the answer is to provide a subsidy for them to live where they do not want to live.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: It wants to have it both ways.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I thank Senator Leyden for his remarks regarding the recruitment of members of the Garda. I assure the Senator and Senator Cummins that I was conscious from the outset that if I did not deliver 2,000 additional gardaí before promoting the idea of a volunteer reserve, people would put two and two together and would not get 22. They would know exactly what was happening.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (7 Dec 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am by no means dismissive of the reservations of the representative associations. I accept that some people might consider it strange that a person who has received less than 24 months' training could exercise exactly the same powers as a garda. I also have a clear picture regarding the points made about resources, overtime earnings and so forth. I am not ignoring these points, nor do I...