Results 181-200 of 9,753 for speaker:Terry Leyden

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

Terry Leyden: I commend Senator Henry on her selective quotations from the Information Commissioner's recommendations.

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

Terry Leyden: The Information Commissioner's recommendations assist us in this respect. On section 4(5), he states: It appears that this provision is not being observed and is a burden on public bodies. As the provision has no obvious value and could be used to highlight non-compliance on the part of public bodies, it is suggested that it should be removed from the Act. It is extraordinary that the...

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

Terry Leyden: Perhaps other Senators receive it. I used to find it interesting to read. If I want to find out who is the designated information officer of the Midland Health Board, I would telephone the board. Is the Opposition living in the real world in opposing the Bill and the removal of this section? The amendment is progressive and the removal of the provision is recommended by the commissioner. The...

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

Terry Leyden: I do not receive it and I am not yet connected to the Internet. Does anybody in the House get a copy every month? Perhaps I am the exception.

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

Terry Leyden: I am amazed by the position adopted by Senator Henry, for whom I have great respect. She is a wonderful Senator.

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

Terry Leyden: That is the point. The Opposition is slavishly following the recommendations in terms of its amendments, all of which will be based on them. I base my support for the Bill on the actual—

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

Terry Leyden: The Government amendment is excellent and I commend the Department and the Minister for it. The Government receives advice from the best advisers available to the State and I have tremendous respect for that advice. I have made my case in favour of accepting the section.

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

Terry Leyden: Not in this Bill.

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

Terry Leyden: Although Senators are fairly well informed, nobody in this House has admitted receiving a copy of Iris Oifigiúil.

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

Terry Leyden: I have not received a copy since 1992, but then I was out for a while. According to the requirements of the 1997 Act, the name of the dedicated officer in Roscommon County Council was sent to Iris Oifigiúil. If I wanted to find that, would I have to go through every edition of Iris Oifigiúil from 1998 to 2003? I can simply ring 0903 62100 and ask for the name of the information officer. I...

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

Terry Leyden: How many ways can I explain why this provision should be deleted?

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

Terry Leyden: I know the Senator understands. We are very practical and pragmatic on this side of the House. Senator O'Toole will be delighted to hear I voted for the national agreement today. I want to keep him happy, because he is in bad humour today.

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

Terry Leyden: On Second Stage the Minister said the Act has been extended. Since 1998, tens of thousands of requests have been made to public bodies, the large majority of which have been granted in full or part. I assure the Senators that not one of them went to Iris Oifigiúil to find out the officer in charge of freedom of information in a local authority.

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

Terry Leyden: I compliment the Minister of State on elaborating in such detail on this section. The explanatory memorandum sets out the reason for this proposed change and I respect the advice given to the Department by experts in this field. I am glad the debate has moved on to the detail and substance of the Bill, rather than trying to avoid it. Why is the section being opposed by the Labour Party? It...

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

Terry Leyden: In my experience of tabling amendments when in opposition, it is a simple matter to present an alternative wording to the Minister's proposal. The Minister of State has elaborated very well on the matter. It has never been my experience, either as a Minister of State or Member of either House, that I have had to rely on a document just published on the day of a debate. As that "bible" does...

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

Terry Leyden: I cannot find any reference to section 4 in my copy of the report. Perhaps the Senator has a different book. I commend this section of the Bill to the House, having regard to the Minister of State's very detailed elaboration on it.

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

Terry Leyden: I thought the Senator was non-aligned at all times.

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

Terry Leyden: I am delighted that Senator Higgins has come to accept that this section is sensible and should be included in the Bill. With the advice given to the Opposition by the NUJ, I am not sure if a separate bible is being provided.

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

Terry Leyden: They are saying legal provision comes into effect to allow applications to withdraw freedom of information requests before they are completed and this was done informally in any case. I will not labour the point. While Senator O'Toole made the point that the document published by the commissioner at around 4 p.m. today made no reference to the Bill before the House, it obviously does.

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

Terry Leyden: The observations also refer to the Bill before the House.