Results 1,781-1,800 of 1,966 for speaker:Mary Henry

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: I wish I had thought of making a freedom of information request to find out what it costs to run the Office of the Information Commissioner because we are getting very good value no matter what the cost. The amount of work that has gone into this report is incredible but we are to ignore it on Committee Stage. I am worried that the Taoiseach does not understand what is in the Bill because he...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: Why do we bother coming here at all?

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: I am delighted with the commissioner. It is the original Act he is referring to on page 75 of the report. Senator O'Toole's amendment, which I seconded, will not be brought up until Report Stage and one must allude to it on Committee Stage. On section 2, the interpretation section, of the original Act, "person" should be defined under the Interpretation Act 1937. The commissioner suggests the...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: The word "person" is not defined in the original Act. Do the Minister of State or his officials have any idea why it is felt such as definition is needed now? Is there a problem?

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: To clarify things for Senator Leyden, the amendments Senator O'Toole and I have tabled are on page 75. Is that the page the Senator is looking at?

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: In the Long Title, it has been suggested that we can bring forward amendments to the Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill. This entire Bill is amending the original Act. The commissioner, for whom I have great admiration, suggests references to members of the public should be changed to "persons". This is obviously an important step he wants us to take. What is the view of the Department...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: Let me pour oil on troubled waters by moving on a little. We have had the legal difficulties but what are the practical difficulties?

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: Following Senator Mansergh's useful contribution, I am more convinced than ever that we should try to retain the section. Surely a person must type up replies to freedom of information requests. Therefore, someone must take responsibility for them. If replies are made by committee, where will it take us? I expected the Government to accept this amendment as I could not see a problem with it,...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: I am not slavishly following the Information Commissioner's recommendations. I am making decisions.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: While I understand there is an information officer, people like Senator Mansergh seem to tell us that everything is delegated and the decisions are not made by the information officer.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: While I have never worked in a Department, from what I have heard the information officer is not necessarily the person who will write the reply. Based on what Senator Mansergh said, the work is delegated to different people. It is great to be able to find out who is dealing with a specific request. It is not so long since civil servants were not allowed to give their names. I remember...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: I was surprised when I heard it reported on RTE news that the Taoiseach said the Bill would not affect individuals. This is the area where it will have most effect. The words "relate to" are totally different from "contain". They are much broader and changing them represents a huge diminution of the amount of information people can obtain about themselves. This is terribly important where...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: That is correct. It may be easier for the person who is giving out the information, but it may be much more difficult for the person who is seeking the information.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: I understand what the Minister of State is saying. It can be very difficult and awkward, especially if somebody else within the family might be affected by the information being given. I take Senator Mansergh's point that it is far simpler for the person giving the information to have a word such as "contain" used but it also takes away the discretion if one can see that there is something...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: Since the Taoiseach patently thinks this Bill does not affect individuals, because he obviously would not have said that if he knew there is to be such a change in the way applications must be made and the way information can be given out, could the Minister of State look at this between now and Report Stage? I have heard it reported on the news that the Taoiseach said this Bill will not...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: Senator Mansergh is absolutely right. The meaning of "relate to" is much wider—

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: —than "contain". I could see "contain" being defined eventually in a way that if it did not contain your name and address, you might not get any information.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: It would mean that names will have to be there. Next there will be a need for the date of birth to be sure it was not another Mary Henry or something like that.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters. - Tourism Industry. (11 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: I welcome the Minister of State and at this late hour will not keep him long. Since he comes from a county where tourism is so important, he will understand what I am talking about. There is apparently a huge downturn in the tourism business. I have received figures which show that bookings are down by 30% to 50%, mainly in sectors which would have booked well in advance such as the corporate...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (5 Mar 2003)

Mary Henry: The Minister and his officials would be delighted if every Bill from their Department passed through the House with such speed and acclaim. I am delighted the Bill has passed. BUPA still says that risk equalisation is unfair but the VHI would have to keep carrying an unjust burden for another two decades if we did not pass this Bill. I hope now that we have the authority that the risk...