Results 321-340 of 18,436 for speaker:Michael McDowell
- Seanad: Housing: Statements (29 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: Our landlord and tenant system is not the same as any continental one, even the Austrian one. Maybe we should give tenants more rights under the Constitution and maybe we should use much more social housing to ensure, as in Vienna, that people have their rights vindicated. I have no problem with any of that. However, in the particular market that we were facing what was proposed was a...
- Seanad: Housing: Statements (29 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: The Senator will get his opportunity. Senator Fitzpatrick mentioned the role of local authorities. Under the housing Acts, local authorities are supposed to set out a strategy to deal with housing requirements in their own areas. Senator Fitzpatrick was on Dublin City Council, which has an abysmal record in facing up to the housing shortage in Dublin city. It spends millions refurbishing...
- Seanad: Housing: Statements (29 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: From the air.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: No, it is not agreed. The amendments listed are agreed but the rest are not.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: I am agreeable to the grouping of amendments Nos. 1, 3, 14, 15, 20 to 24, inclusive, 31 and 34.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: Yes.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: Not agreed.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: Yes.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: Yes. I propose that they be discussed individually.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: They are different topics.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: This is a matter of fundamental constitutional importance and I am not anxious to just abridge the debate by shoving everything together having one speech and the like. No, I am not prepared to do that.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, lines 14 to 22, to delete all words from and including “to” where it secondly occurs in line 14 down to and including “Europe;” in line 22.
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: This amendment has the purpose of removing from the Long Title of the Bill words contained at lines 14 to 22.Those words are as follows: ... to provide for the aforementioned matters having regard to the recommendation of the Council of Europe’s Group of States against Corruption (GRECO) that the system of selection, recommendation and promotion of judges target the appointments to the...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: I listened carefully to what the Minister of State has said, which included the phrase "contrary to the rule of law". What rule of law? The Commission of the European Union is not competent to determine the law of the European Union. It is not its function to do so. Even though it may have rows with the Polish state about amendments to the manner in which Polish judges hold their office...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 4: In page 10, to delete lines 26 to 33, and in page 11, to delete lines 1 to 7 and substitute the following: “Membership of Commission 9. (1) The Commission shall consist of 9 members, subject to section 45, being— (a) the Chief Justice, (b) subject to subsection (2), the President of the Court of Appeal, (c) 2 members of the Judicial Council...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: Amendments Nos. 4 and 16 are related and I propose to speak to both at this point. The present proposal in the Bill is that there should be a nine-member commission, that four of those members can be members of the Judiciary and that four should be laypersons selected in the manner provided for in the Bill. The present wording of section 9 reads: The Commission shall consist of 9 members,...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: I am interested in what the Minister of State has said about the transparent and well-trusted method of appointing the lay members because, unfortunately, his remarks do not reflect the reality of the intention of the Government. Section 13, in respect of the proposed selection of lay members, states that the Minister will ask the Public Appointments Service "to undertake a selection...
- Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2022: Report Stage (28 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: Yes, it could do that. It could come up with 12 and bring those names to the Minister. Subsection (5) states that "the Minister shall appoint lay members from among the persons recommended by the Public Appointments Service under subsection (2)." We now have a situation where the Minister, who is depriving the Government of the right to choose its own people for the Judiciary, accords the...
- Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: There are two matters I want to deal with today, the first of which is in relation to what Senator Burke was said about the alcohol legislation that was debated at great length in this House. Most of it was nonsense, to be honest. We have not yet put the unit price of alcohol in place and there will not be one unless there is an Assembly in Northern Ireland that will do the same on the...
- Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Mar 2023)
Michael McDowell: I think Senator Gavan will be allowed leave.