Results 181-200 of 13,185 for speaker:Pat Gallagher

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages. (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The first part of amendment No. 1 reflects what will happen when the Bill is enacted and, consequently, I hope Senator Quinn will accept my undertaking that the commencement order will reflect this point. With regard to the second part of the amendment, the commission's terms of reference in Schedule 5, together with sections 21 and 22, state the commission's reports will comprise...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages. (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Senator Quinn has brought it to our attention that section 2 does not include software. I refer the Members to the citation in section 1 which provides that the Bill must be read in conjunction with a number of other Acts such as the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2001, particularly section 138 of that Act. It applies to referenda and presidential elections and clearly refers to software. With...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As I indicated on a number of occasions on previous Stages of the Bill, the question of publication of the source code will be examined later in the year, having regard to the security and secrecy of the ballot. As intended, my Department will be examining the count rules in the context of electronic voting and counting to provide that all the votes of elected candidates will be examined in...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: We select what suits us. I am pointing out what the commission said regarding the findings of the experts retained by it.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: The 14 days have elapsed and nothing further can be done. Neither would we interfere.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: It is the law of the land.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I cannot respond.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This matter has been debated extensively but I have not heard any substantive reasons for the inclusion of this amendment, nor am I aware of any other country using such a facility. Whether the facility should be provided is the subject of debate. It is not a proven requirement nor is it a statutory requirement. There are arguments on both sides but the commission will consider the matter. We...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As I have indicated on a number of occasions, including yesterday, it is the intention to review the count rules, having regard to the calculation and distribution of votes. It affects only surpluses, not eliminations. The review will also cover other areas linked to some arbitrary and random elements of the count. It was made abundantly clear yesterday, particularly by a Member who may have...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: All I can say is that it will depend on various factors, not least of which is a report from the Commission on Electronic Voting. I cannot give an indication of the date because it relates to that report. When we have that report there will be a further opportunity to discuss the introduction of legislation on count rules. There is no urgency. The important thing is to get it right. When we...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages (Resumed). (12 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As I stated last evening, I do not consider it necessary for instructions to be included in a statutory order. Any instructions issued will be public documents, not just confined to a party. It is the intention that most of the instructions will be in the guidelines to be issued under section 31 of the Bill. These guidelines will be available for public scrutiny. The same applies for other...

Seanad: Shooting Regulations. (26 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: There has been a long-standing policy of not allowing hunting on State lands acquired and managed for nature conservation purposes. The reasons for this approach are twofold: to protect the safety of people visiting and using national parks and to avoid compromising the nature conservation status of these lands. In 1999, the then Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands...

Seanad: Shooting Regulations. (26 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: Following the advice issued by the Heritage Council and at the request of the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, the previous Minister agreed in early 2002, without prejudice, to a joint examination by a scientific group, comprising officials of the Department and nominees of NARGC, of the question of permitting hunting on State lands, from a scientific perspective only....

Seanad: Shooting Regulations. (26 May 2004)

Pat Gallagher: It is also the case that the lands in question amount to only approximately 1% of the land area of the State, while extensive facilities for hunting are available on Coillte lands, as the Senator pointed out, privately owned land and foreshore. The Minister also had to take account of considerations of public safety and confidence and of the potential exposure of the State to claims for...

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Statements. (2 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: I will be brief because I came here today to listen. I take this opportunity to compliment Senator O'Rourke, Leader of the Seanad and chairperson of the sub-committee, Senator Brian Hayes, Leader of the Fine Gael group, Senator Dardis, Deputy Leader of the Seanad, and Senator O'Toole, co-ordinator of the Independent group. I thank them for giving of their time and producing a comprehensive...

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Statements (Resumed). (2 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: During my introductory remarks and comments, I paid tribute to the members of the sub-committee dealing with Seanad reform. I inadvertently omitted to mention the contribution of Senator Ryan. Although he resigned from the sub-committee, he made a valuable contribution. I would like to be associated with his colleagues' remarks in paying tribute to him. The contributions of the Senators who...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: As the Petty Sessions (Ireland) Act 1851 is mentioned only once in section 9 of the Bill, I am pleased to accept amendments Nos. 1 and 32.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment to correct a clerical error. There is no reference to the Local Government (Financial Provisions) Act 1997 in the Bill.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: While there are many amendments here, a thread runs through them. They form a package of technical measures designed to make the legislation operate more efficiently. After the publication of the Bill, departmental officials consulted widely on it, as the Minister indicated on Second Stage, particularly with local authority engineers. We are, therefore, making changes of an engineering...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (16 Jun 2004)

Pat Gallagher: This is a technical amendment to remove unnecessary duplication arising from the inclusion of "horticulture" in the earlier definition of "agriculture" in section 2.