Results 81-100 of 143 for going forward speaker:David Norris

Seanad: Report of the Inspector of Mental Hospitals, 2001: Statements. (7 Nov 2002)

David Norris: ...to Senator McHugh for his indulgence. I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Malley, who comes from a distinguished political lineage, well known to both this and the other House. I look forward to a very distinguished career for himself and congratulate him on his appointment as Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children. It is appropriate that we take this report...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2009)

David Norris: ...of capitalism during their lifetimes. To a certain satisfactory extent, this seems to be occurring. Socialism is beginning to happen, but it is a forced conversion. I welcome the fact that the Government has created a new asset management agency. I suggested this four months ago but it was something more radical. We will take over toxic assets valued at more than €90 billion, but I...

Seanad: Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008: Second Stage (30 Apr 2008)

David Norris: ...are, however, unconvincing elements to the treaty. It would be perfectly legitimate for the people of Ireland to use their democratic vote to reject this treaty. If they did so, they would be going over the heads of the megalocrats that run the EU to speak directly to the heart of Europe, a democratic right which none of its other citizens have been given the opportunity to exercise....

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2008)

David Norris: Senator Bacik has anticipated much of what I was going to say and she has done so very effectively. I spoke at considerable length on this subject on Second Stage, as the Minister may or may not recall. I am very worried by this because it seems all of a piece with the Government's attitude towards human rights. As someone who has been in the House for a long time and has worked on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 May 2012)

David Norris: ...silence a professional journalist in this country, Fr. Brian D'Arcy. That is extremely worrying. I realise the question of the privileges of the confessional is sensitive and complex, and I look forward to dealing with that as well as the question of the confidential relationship between lawyers and clients and so forth. However, a leading member of an association of priests said he...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2012)

David Norris: ...said when he said that he understood, as somebody who had been a priest for seven years, how it feels to have one's entire ethical standing impugned. I know how it feels too. It would be very good if Members of the House who put themselves forward for public life refused to accept that they can be lied about with impunity. I would like some courage from my colleagues in that regard. On...

Seanad: Protection of the Public Interest from Tobacco Lobbying Bill 2013: Second Stage (18 Dec 2013)

David Norris: I very much hope this Bill will pass Second Stage. I recall that Senator Burke brought forward a Bill relating to medical insurance which was acceptable almost in its entirety to the Government. I argued on that occasion that it should be allowed to go through Second Stage, after which the Minister could amend it as required. I recall thinking on that occasion that the Government should...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2016)

David Norris: ...groups of people with straw boaters and actors performing. We had the Lord Mayor at our breakfast in the James Joyce Centre and I was at the wonderful Westland Row community breakfast before going to Sandymount Green. Joyce's power of reputation helped to save North Great George's Street, as one of the crucial buildings there, No. 35, was identified and it is now the centre of the...

Seanad: Employment Equality (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (9 Apr 2014)

David Norris: ...employment legislation under which this matter could be dealt with and in the context of which it might be made clear that someone is not suitable or qualified for the job and that he or she should go elsewhere to teach atheism or Mormonism. As stated, I hope to table amendments for Report Stage. I also hope the matter will not be put to a vote at this point. I will be tabling an...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment)(Political Funding) Bill 2011: Second Stage (2 Feb 2012)

David Norris: I welcome the Minister to the House and the introduction of this Bill. I agree that it will fundamentally change the way politics is conducted. In fact, I would go so far as to say it has the potential to transform the political landscape in this State in a very positive way. As the longest-serving continuous Member of the Seanad - the father of the House - it is a matter of pride to me...

Seanad: One-Parent Family Payment: Motion (15 Jul 2015)

David Norris: In the absence of that, it is insupportable that the Government should attack and impose cuts on the most vulnerable and the weakest members of society. Another communication states: For me personally, as a working lp [lone parent], these cuts have cost me €140pw ...How many of us would like to be slapped with a cut of €140 a week if we were lone parents trying to put food on...

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (12 Oct 2021)

David Norris: ...history here. Until 2008, primary schools received funding to stock libraries with new books to help students to learn and develop and to support their well-being. That was an excellent idea. It was forward looking. This grant, however, was cut in 2008 and has never been restored. I ask that the Minister restore this grant. Allocating just €10 to every primary school child in...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (6 Jul 2004)

David Norris: I have no desire to antagonise the Minister of State, whom I know is a decent and caring, if somewhat conservative, gentleman. There is, however, an area here that we should examine. The Minister of State says that he has not been asked to look at this area. I am now formally requesting that he does so because it is such a glaring omission. I have no qualification in law but that has never...

Seanad: Political Reform: Statements (8 Oct 2013)

David Norris: ...about the integrity of Members accepting their salary if that is what they actually feel. I have been campaigning for over 30 years for reform of the Seanad. It amazes me that after 30 years suddenly the Government is parroting all of my arguments about the lack of democracy. There were people lying brazenly on radio during the referendum claiming the university Senators had always...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Mar 2007)

David Norris: ...programme and told it as it is. We must listen to him as a former General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation. I raised this matter yesterday. It seems extraordinary that the Government picks up the bills. So many of these matters are in the domain of the church. It is time we had proper national education which is not only funded but also controlled by the State....

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2012)

David Norris: ...Europe and globally and there do not seem to be many with an encompassing global vision. I am worried because several years ago in this House I said I believed financial and climatic problems were going to produce circumstances where catastrophic events would become more frequent, occur closer together and be more disastrous. Regrettably, these words are coming true, both in the world of...

Seanad: Defence Forces Property. (7 Feb 2006)

David Norris: ...manner questions of Army pensions. There is also the scandal highlighted in the book written by a distinguished member of the staff of this House, Dave O'Donoghue, about the situation in the Congo where two people, whose reputations are still besmirched, have not had their gallantry recognised. I hope something will be done about that. The case I raise today is a specific one. It is a...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2011: Second Stage (13 Dec 2011)

David Norris: ...scale. I am afraid this is what is happening here. I do not blame the Minister personally for this. The Bill must be seen in the full economic context, but that is where the problem is. Governments all over Europe, including ours, are once again putting the protection and preservation of the system above the welfare of the people, and that is the wrong way around. This will continue to...

Seanad: Election of Cathaoirleach (25 May 2011)

David Norris: ...comhghairdeas le gach éinne tar éis an toghcháin. Is mór an onóir dom bheith sa Chathaoir stairiúil seo mar athair an tSeanaid ar an ócáid an-tábhachtach seo. Tá sé an-tábhachtach go pearsanta dom féin freisin. I congratulate each and everyone on becoming a Member of the 34th Seanad - sorry, the 24th Seanad - I hope there will be a 34th Seanad. It is a privilege and an...

Seanad: Communications Masts (27 May 2009)

David Norris: ...wireless, on which I listen to the news. As I travel along the corridors of Leinster House it is frequently interrupted by various kinds of buzzing, whirring, whizzing, cheeping and so on. It can go off the air altogether. That indicates to me that various kinds of radiation are passing through the ether and also obviously passing through my body. Luckily, I have survived to the age of...