Results 101-120 of 12,346 for speaker:Willie O'Dea

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The amendments in the first group are amendments Nos. 1, 4, 5, 7, 10 to 15, inclusive, 17, 18 and 21 to 25, inclusive. Some of these amendments, which are primarily drafting amendments, were proposed by Opposition Deputies and accepted by the Minister in the Dáil. I will be happy to respond to any points Senators would like to raise in this regard.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: This group of amendments comprises amendments Nos. 2, 9, 16 and 26. It addresses an issue which generated a considerable amount of debate in the Seanad when it last considered this Bill. It is now proposed to take a technically different approach to the question of a health-related basis for refusing leave to land. Amendment No. 26 provided for a new Schedule to the Bill. In the intervening...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I confirm that is accurate. I thank all Senators for their eloquent and learned contributions to this important debate. There is a fair degree of consensus on the matter. Senator Dardis summed it up well. As I stated in my initial response, a person's health status has been rarely used to refuse someone permission to land. As Senator Henry said, it will make little difference in practice....

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: On the other hand, that person may have behaved notoriously badly in another country and the notification may have been sent forward to the Irish authorities. That has happened. It is a matter of discretion for the immigration officer. The immigration provision in the United Kingdom states that an immigration officer must refuse leave to land to a person on confirmation from a medical...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: If we adopted the United Kingdom's approach, which no one could argue is impractical, I am sure the Senator would have something to say about that. We cannot have it both ways. The law is now exactly as it was understood to be up to 22 January. We have adopted the same regulations for both EEA and non-EEA nationals. We are working hard in the Department to update the legislation. I think Sinn...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the Labour Party for its input on this matter. The Parliamentary Counsel has had the opportunity to consider the appropriate updating of the material in the Bill regarding the privileges and immunities of diplomats, consular officers and the staff of international bodies with similar privileges and immunities. The original material in the Bill as published was drawn from section 5(4)...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: Amendment No. 6 ensures that all references to an immigration officer in other Acts are tied into this Act. The immigration officers will henceforth be appointed under this Bill when enacted. There are references in earlier statutes which create duties, functions and obligations on immigration officers "appointed under the Aliens Order 1946". For example the Refugee Act imposes obligations on...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: Amendment No. 17 makes explicit the requirement of reasonableness in the steps to be taken by a householder who has a non-national staying in the house under section 9(4) of the Bill. While the courts could as a matter of course read that requirement into the section, it is no harm to spell it out plainly. Section 9(4) of the Bill forms part of the mechanism for the control of non-nationals...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: It is a variation of it.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: We have been under considerable pressure to do something far more radical than we are doing. The Senator has asked why I am taking the opportunity to make some changes. This is emergency legislation. We are considering introducing more comprehensive legislation next year. Even though it is emergency legislation, we are now incorporating the changes we can to make it more modern pending the...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I was not present.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (11 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I thank everybody for contributing today and on the previous debates on the Bill. In response to Senator Tuffy, it is emergency legislation and almost by definition, one's chances of wide consultation on it are slim. This is emergency legislation to deal with an emergency because, as matters stand, we have no effective and workable mechanism in place to prevent illegal immigration to this...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: Amendments Nos. 1 and 2 are technical amendments to section 3(a) of the Bill arising, in the case of amendment No. 1, from a clerical drafting error in the alignment of text and the omission of the wording in the definition of discrimination inserted into the Act of 1998 by the Equal Status Act 2000. The first amendment realigns lines 26 to 28 to restore their application to both paragraphs...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: If Senator Quinn reads amendment No. 4, he will find that much of what he said is now irrelevant. I signalled on Second Stage my intention to bring forward this amendment to section 3(a) to ensure that the limited exclusion from what is defined as an employee for the purposes of the Employment Equality Act is further confirmed. The definition of employee in section 2 of the 1998 Act is being...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I am sympathetically disposed to this amendment. The case has been very compellingly put by Senator Tuffy who was ably supported by Senator Terry and Senator Quinn. Unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendment today for reasons I will explain. I would love to avail of Senator Quinn's invitation to make a little history. I read in The Sunday Times the article to which Senator Tuffy referred...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I thank the Senators for their constructive approach, and will convey the views of Senator Tuffy to the Government. I realise the urgency of this matter, and that during the recent period of very rapid economic growth, bottlenecks developed in certain sectors of the labour market, as Senators are aware. These could have been alleviated in certain areas known to me, but for the compulsory...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I cannot disagree with the logic of anything Senator Terry says. I agree with all her sentiments. However, I have been advised that because the proposed amendment is aspirational in character, it would not be appropriate to include it in primary legislation. The Act of 1998 is by definition an Equality Act. The provisions of the earlier gender equality legislation were enhanced and extended...

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: The Senator has raised a fair point and I thank her for bringing it to our attention. She has highlighted an omission and between now and the taking of the Bill in the Dáil I propose to either accept her amendment as it is or consult with the Parliamentary Counsel to see if we can put it somewhat more elegantly. I accept the principle of the amendment.

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I have some sympathy with Senator Terry's fears about the use of terminology like "unreasonable burden" in the context of disability but, unfortunately, I cannot accept the amendment for legal reasons. Before the European directive was transposed into law, the Supreme Court decided that extra costs cannot be imposed on employers in respect of people with disabilities other than nominal costs....

Seanad: Equality Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (18 Feb 2004)

Willie O'Dea: I dislike refusing all the Senator's amendments but the difficulty with this amendment is essentially the same as the difficulty with the previous one. Section 16 of the Employment Equality Act 1998 is a complex and specific provision which recognises that additional provision is necessary to protect the rights of people with disabilities. Section 16, as amended in this Bill, will require...