Results 1-20 of 5,908 for at speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 May 2024)

Michael McDowell: I share with the Cathaoirleach a devotion to Marty Whelan and the other great presenters on Lyric FM. On one occasion, he recounted a story about a three-legged dog going into a saloon in America. The bartender said, "What are you doing here? We don't serve dogs". The dog replied, "I'm looking for the man who shot my paw". That always stuck with me. On a serious note, the Joint...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: On the border procedure, Senator Gallagher elicited from the Minister on the previous occasion that, in her view, 80% of applications for international protection were from people who had come to Ireland from the United Kingdom, and this was based on the proposition that they seem not to have gone through migration controls at ports and airports. Does the border procedure necessarily apply...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: I wish to return to the issue of whether the border procedures apply to somebody who has been in this State for some time. I would like clarity on that. I am looking at the briefing paper we got from the Library and Research Service. It states: ... on 20 December 2023 concerning the Pact, the core aim of the proposed Screening Regulation to "strengthen control of persons at external...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: I will leave it at that, Chair.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: On a point of order, I understand that we will be finishing at 7 p.m. and will say that we have considered the report.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: My problem is that many members of the committee are not here now and will not be here at 7 p.m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (23 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: ...Minister first about persons coming to Ireland who will be affected by the border procedure. If somebody comes to Ireland as a transit passenger through, say, Paris, is ours the first country that has to deal with him or her under EU law, and will the border procedure apply to him or her? Second, if somebody comes in here from, say, the United Kingdom at an unspecified time and later...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (23 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: I am just trying to get to the practicalities of this. If somebody arrives at Dublin Airport, with or without documents, and says they are an Albanian, say, looking for asylum in Ireland, do any of these border procedures have any application to them if they have arrived on a flight from Paris, Berlin, London or wherever?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (23 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: Finally, we sign in to these regulations. Is it or is it not the case under protocol 21 that they can be amended at a later stage by qualified majority voting, QMV, and that our veto, so to speak, is gone and we are stuck with decisions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (23 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: I agree with Deputy Harkin that there is a distinction between sovereignty and the requirement for a referendum under Article 29 of the Constitution, but it does not mean it is any less a derogation of sovereignty when the State opts in and confers on other institutions the right to make decisions over a large area of what used to be national autonomy. Some 80% of asylum applications now...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: EU Regulations and Directive on International Protection, Asylum and Migration: Discussion (23 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: I will not delay the proceedings. I just want to understand one thing. Between the indirect UK-EU people and UK people simply with no EU transit, the Minister said 80% of our asylum applications are constituted by people who have come to Ireland from the UK at the moment.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: Yesterday, I referred to a peaceful protest outside the House here as being probably extremist. I want to apologise to the people who participated in that protest. They were, in fact they were an entirely legitimate and well-intentioned group of people who came to protest. I received an email today from Michelle Keane, who organised it. I want to acknowledge that it was unfair of me to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: That is the proposal but it will not get any consideration at all and this is what I want to alert everybody in this House to. This is a most serious matter. Today I was also given access to the speaking note for the Cathaoirleach of that committee and it makes clear that none of the Minister's officials can answer any questions and only the Minister will do it.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: I know full well what the arrangements are. I am saying that I have the speaking note for the Cathaoirleach of that committee, which involves an absolute whitewash. After the Minister has made her submissions and members have made contributions, that is the end of the matter and that is the only consideration that is proposed to be given to this proposal. I protest most strongly. This is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: -----and then have this whitewash charter decide what will happen at that committee.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: -----at the recent referendum-----

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: -----considered before it becomes part of our law at constitutional level.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Pre-legislative Scrutiny of the Proceeds of Crime (Amendment) Bill 2024: Discussion (16 Apr 2024)

Michael McDowell: Arising out of that, I have in mind people who are the subject of activated living wills and things like that and who might, for instance, have been a partner in a business or whatever. They will not be aware of it, so there has to be a kind of special duty to people in that category in that, obviously, they are not aware of it and that somebody looks at their possible legitimate interest to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Mar 2024)

Michael McDowell: On the day that is in it, I will commence by expressing my own personal thanks to the Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, for all of the work he has done for Ireland during his period as Minister, Tánaiste and Taoiseach. They have been stressful and hard years and I fully understand the toll that such service can take on people who have dedicated themselves to public elected office. I want...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2024)

Michael McDowell: I want to mention a matter today of considerable importance. The European Commission has imposed a lump sum fine of €2.5 million and a daily fine of €10,000 on Ireland for failure to transpose the Audiovisual Media Services directive. This House established a committee, after grave difficulty and resistance from some quarters in the permanent government of Ireland, the...