Results 161-180 of 405 for speaker:John Ellis

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: The procedure is very simple. The Minister of State made a statement in the House. If the statement is incorrect we should have the right to question it. I am not saying the Minister of State did not provide what was before him, but he did state that the decision of Mr. Justice Budd was taken when the representation ratio was 20,000:1. The ratio is now is 25,000:1 and the judgment is,...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Kitt, back to the House. Like his senior colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Minister of State probably feels that very little can be done to address the points that were raised the last time we considered this section of the Bill. It is clear to everybody that the terms of reference given to the...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: Senator Phelan is right.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: Yes, Waterford to Tullow but if we take Mayo as an example, and having to travel from Blacksod to Cong, what is being done is unrealistic. In terms of rural areas, a case will have to be made with regard to the tolerance for membership of the Dáil. We must be fair about it. When the Constitution came into operation in 1937, there were approximately 16,000 people per Member of the Dáil....

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: ——she is a member of the commission. This issue can be fought on several legal points and it will have to be fought because it is not just something that affects us currently in County Leitrim but something that affects the entire system with regard to freedom of information. That comes into this because there is no way anybody in the Ombudsman's office could have a right to become...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: I note the Minister of State's reply. He did not state whether or not he was going to ask his senior colleague to seek clarification from the Attorney General on the position concerning the preparation of the commission report. If we are to progress this further, this clarification must be got. The Members of this House are entitled to get information from the chief law officer, as far as...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: I appreciate the Minister's problem. I suppose not many of us appreciate that some of our colleagues have had their areas cut in two. We all accept this happens. My gripe with the commission concerns its report. The commission was given terms of reference that stated that county boundaries should, where possible, be sacrosanct. However, it broke the county boundaries in many places and...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: I accept that. However, the first thing that will happen is that the Minister will run into the Murphy judgment which states that the tolerance should be no more than 2.5%. This is part of the problem. Until we decide that we will be flexible with regard to the number of Members of the Lower House, we will have problems. Rural areas will see themselves as losing representation and the one...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: That is part of what I am getting round to. If one sets off on a political career with a base, one does not like to see it cut in pieces at the first available opportunity. While I know we will never get to the bottom of the decisions made, I believe they were made deliberately to get at certain individuals within the Dáil. I am not saying I was one of those because I was not a Member...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: Detriment.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: He can take up that amendment on the next day we resume discussion of the Bill.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: One cannot win them all.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: I wish to comment on the way in which the electoral commission prepared its report for the Minister.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (12 Feb 2009)

John Ellis: Section 4 is probably the most relevant one because it also deals with electoral divisions. On Second Stage, I raised with the Minister the question of how the commission had gone about its business. Its terms of reference stated that it should examine county and geographical boundaries, and all other considerations. It had the right to work with between 166 and 168 Members of the Dáil....

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (29 Jan 2009)

John Ellis: At 2.30 p.m. next Tuesday, 3 February 2008.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (29 Jan 2009)

John Ellis: I welcome the Minister to the House. I do not welcome the Bill and I have made statements in this regard long before today. The Minister is committed to the legislation because he inherited the commission report, which has become the most secretive document we have had in the country for a long time. I have made requests under the Freedom of Information Act 1997 regarding the report, only...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (29 Jan 2009)

John Ellis: On a point of order, will the Minister clarify something in his speech? With regard to the commission's 2007 report, he stated: The main features of the commission's report in relation to Dáil constituencies are as follows: firstly, no change in the existing level of Dáil membership — that is to say, 166 seats. Is that the true position?

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2008)

John Ellis: The Electoral (Amendment) Bill will come before the House after Christmas. This Bill is based on a report by the Boundary Commission which was given certain terms of reference which were not adhered to in the preparation of the report on which this legislation is based. Is it open to the House to obtain legal opinion on the validity of the Bill? My information is that the Bill is flawed...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2008)

John Ellis: As with the other Members, I compliment the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the Taoiseach on the way in which they dealt with the crisis over the past week. They proved they would not stand idly by and probably went past what was necessary, but when dealing with people's food and health, one must err on the side of caution rather than take risks. The incident poses a...

Seanad: Recall of Irish Pork and Bacon Products: Statements (10 Dec 2008)

John Ellis: I wish to share time with Senator O'Donovan. Will the Acting Chairman let me know when I have spoken for three minutes?