Results 21-40 of 61 for going forward speaker:Denis O'Donovan

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2014)

Denis O'Donovan: ...that Members stopped playing second fiddle and being treated as second-class citizens. The people gave a resounding "Yes" vote to this House five or six months ago. Had the same proposal been put forward about the abolition of the Dáil and given what is going on there at present, would the vote have been so resounding? Consequently, I take great pride in seconding this motion and...

Seanad: Charities Sector: Statements (4 Feb 2014)

Denis O'Donovan: ...in respect of the fishing industry, it goes unappreciated. When our party passed the Charities Act in 2009, it represented a milestone in the development of the regulation of the sector and a major leap forward at that stage. However, recent events have propelled the matter forward and we are now at a stage where the Minister and the Government must implement the Act and ensure full and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: IHREC: Discussion with Members Designate (22 May 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...with their colleagues in other international organisations, taking Germany as the major powerhouse in Europe, they can have a positive effect on it being resolved in Europe? Austerity is an issue going forward not alone for Ireland but elsewhere, particularly Greece. The UK and other eastern European countries are also affected. In the view of the commissioners-designate, how could they...

Seanad: Fodder Crisis: Statements (9 May 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...in this regard. Last week I attended a funeral in west Cork where I spoke to several farmers who told me one or two of their neighbours had half pits of silage left and were not in crisis, but were still going to the local co-op and buying hay intended for those most in need. The distribution has not been very equitable. Perhaps the IFA, the co-ops and Teagasc could oversee it. I must...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Architectural Heritage (8 May 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...community groups which are doing a lot of work regarding walkways in the area. There is a very vibrant community in Drimoleague, which is down the road. The information is positive and I look forward to the opening. As a lot of money is being spent there, perhaps Deputy Shatter would convey to Deputy Brian Hayes that there should be an official opening. It is of major interest and work...

Seanad: Domestic Violence: Motion (8 May 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...problem of domestic violence and the need to protect funding for this area. Violence against women in all of its manifestations and domestic violence is a deeply traumatising act that demands Government action. When Fianna Fáil was in government, it introduced a national steering committee on violence against women, established Cosc and launched the national strategy on domestic...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Commissioner Máire Geoghegan-Quinn (8 May 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...had attended as both a junior and a senior Minister, is her tremendous bravery on many issues. Sometimes Ministers can cow behind the power of the backroom team. The Commissioner was brave and forward-thinking and had an innate ability to think outside the box on many issues. That is a great credit to her. When history will be written she will be seen as a Minister who took on...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: School Relocation (12 Mar 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...and one such site was located directly across the road from the existing school. However, the local landowner was not prepared to sell or dispose of that site. In March 2007, the individual put forward a proposal that he would sell a site at Summercove crossroads for the purpose of a new school. The site was examined by a senior architect from the Office of Public Works, OPW, who gave a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Property Insurance: Discussion with Irish National Flood Forum (12 Mar 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: I am sorry for being in and out of the meeting but I was supposed to be in the Chair of the Seanad half an hour ago so I had to get a substitute. I welcome the group and particularly those who made the journey from west Cork. I will not go into specifics but I am aware of the reality for the people in Skibbereen, Bandon and many other towns. I will make a few brief points. I am not a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Harbours and Piers (26 Feb 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...has local control, with many users' interest in the bay being properly looked after. Its key focus is improving the marine infrastructure deficit in the inner harbour, which is an historic problem going back decades. It has a healthy bank balance somewhere in the region of ¤1.5 million. Its net worth and balance sheet has grown eight-fold in the past ten years, with ¤4.5 million spent...

Seanad: Defence Forces (Second World War Amnesty and Immunity) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Feb 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House to discuss this matter. I compliment the Minister on bringing forward this legislation. Fianna Fáil will not oppose the Bill, which provides an amnesty for those who deserted the Defence Forces during the Second World War to fight on the Allied side. Nonetheless we believe a mature reader of history will appreciate why it was...

Seanad: Community Development: Motion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...Garda Síochána by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. At the same time, we have an increase in burglaries, drug smuggling and serious dissident activity. The Government is going way beyond the EU-IMF agreement in slashing Garda numbers to their lowest level in over a decade and in dismantling the security infrastructure of the State by closing Garda stations across...

Seanad: Community Development: Motion (Resumed) (23 Jan 2013)

Denis O'Donovan: ...Garda Síochána by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter. At the same time, we have an increase in burglaries, drug smuggling and serious dissident activity. The Government is going way beyond the EU-IMF agreement in slashing Garda numbers to their lowest level in over a decade and in dismantling the security infrastructure of the State by closing Garda stations across...

Seanad: Common Agricultural Policy: Motion (4 Oct 2012)

Denis O'Donovan: ...wished the Minister, a fellow Corkman, well in his job. I have always been positive in respect of and supported what he has set out to achieve. He is involved in one of the most important negotiations - those relating to the new CAP proposals - that has occurred since Ireland joined the then EEC in 1973. We all want to wear the green jersey but I urge the Minister to be steadfast and...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Second Stage (2 Oct 2012)

Denis O'Donovan: ...should be elevated and we recommended constitutional change to this end. The former Deputy Mary O'Rourke subsequently chaired another committee which studied this issue. The late Brian Lenihan, God be good to him, who preceded me as Chairman of the Joint Committee on the Constitution, was then appointed Minister of State with responsibility for children and he and his successor, former...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 May 2012)

Denis O'Donovan: ...in the Seanad on Second Stage. Senator Norris made a point about Members sharing time but he is on the wrong track. The matter was raised within the CPP as a housekeeping issue and it was not a Government edict or mandate. I concur with my colleague, Senator Bacik, that the matter can be reviewed, if necessary. My view is that a senior spokesperson with a particular portfolio or brief...

Seanad: Agriculture and Fisheries: Statements, Questions and Answers (26 Jan 2012)

Denis O'Donovan: ...were compensated. In some quarters, commitments were also given - I do not know how sincere they were - to the effect that, after five or six years, the situation would be revisited. It is good news to see that salmon stocks have greatly recovered. Is there some way to grant wild salmon licences in a regulated fashion? If the science is against it, I will understand, but the commitment...

Seanad: Services for People with Disabilities: Motion (25 Jan 2012)

Denis O'Donovan: ...COPE was not able to reach. Approximately 15 or 20 years ago when feelers were put out to establish whether there were any people with disabilities in the Beara Peninsula, initially nobody came forward. However, when it provided a service, all of a sudden 26 adult people were in the loop. It shows that we have come from an intolerable situation in the 1970s and early 1980s and much...

Seanad: Human Trafficking and Prostitution: Motion (12 Oct 2011)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I support the motion tabled by what one might call the Independent Senators on the Government side. I fully respect and pay tribute to the work done by the Turn off the Red Light campaign. Moreover, when the Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008 passed through this House, I expressed to the then Minister my reservations that while the...

Seanad: Whistleblower Legislation: Motion (29 Jun 2011)

Denis O'Donovan: ...proposals were introduced by the last Government. If one takes the Rostrevor House Nursing Home case, it is interesting that there seems to be a stigma in Irish society in that we are slow to come forward to expose wrongdoing within particular organisations. I am not sure if it is just a fear of being exposed. Perhaps there is something in the Irish psyche that we hate grassing on...