Results 1-20 of 38 for going forward speaker:Niall Blaney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Key Issues Affecting Youth: North South Youth Forum (15 Feb 2024)

Niall Blaney: ...Mr. Taylor very much for their presentations here today. It is fantastic to come in here to a full house. A lot of the time, particularly during Covid, we would be in here talking to a screen. It is good to have the witnesses here in person and moreover to hear their views. It is very important that we have these discussions. Can I first say that young people need to be their own...

Seanad: The Political Situation in Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2023)

Niall Blaney: ...done in co-operation with the stakeholders, such as farmers around the lough, on the sources of water coming into the lough and in the towns near the lough which need sanitary services to ensure that raw effluent is not going into the lake, thereby contributing further to the difficulties there. Is there anything the Irish Government can do? I put this question to Steve Baker in Kildare....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Northern Ireland (27 Sep 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House this morning. I propose to speak to the UK Government's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. Over the past year, I have met with Lord Caine, who seemed to take the lead on this on behalf of the UK Government, on three separate occasions. I will say at the outset how disappointed I am in him from what he told...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Impact of Brexit on the Divergence of Rights and Best Practice on the Island of Ireland: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)

Niall Blaney: ...rights. We have to be careful about how might be done, however. Certainly, it would have to be done with Stormont back in action and everybody having their say in that. It is something to look forward to. The committee has done a great deal of work on the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill. The former Police Ombudsman, Nuala O'Loan, tabled a number of good...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 May 2023)

Niall Blaney: I commend the motion being put forward by my colleagues Senators Seery Kearney and Dolan. It is important because parents right across this country are terrified at night when their kids go on a night out. Girls, in particular, are pretty good at sticking together. Young lads, or not so young lads, being young lads get up to all kinds of things. It is a terrifying situation now,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Engagement with Department of the Taoiseach (27 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the witnesses for being here. It is great to get sight of the work they do, not just the projects but also the research. I am sick to my teeth hearing there is no planning going on in this country about how we share this island. I am delighted there are 20 reports out there already. I look forward to many more coming on board. Without that research, conversations are a waste of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Lord Empey (9 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: Lord Empey is very welcome in joining us here today. I am delighted to see him with us as probably the last contributor to this series in relation to the architects of the Good Friday Agreement. At the outset, it is really important we put on record the contribution of Lord Empey, his then leader David Trimble, who sadly is no longer with us, and his party in what they did in achieving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Ms Liz O'Donnell (16 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: ...adamant in doing this piece of work. As Ms O’Donnell has outlined, given the difficulties that have arisen as a result of the Good Friday Agreement and the situation today, if we are to move forward in an purposeful manner, we must have a knowledge of what happened in the past and learn from the mistakes. People like her coming in and giving these insights is critical for us to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The Economic and Social Benefits of the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement: IBEC (9 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome Mr. O'Brien, Ms Gallagher and Mr. D'Arcy. It is good to have them present. I commend them on their approach to the Good Friday Agreement. The business perspective is very important to have a joined-up approach on an all-island basis. It is fresh. The reality is business in this country and in particular in Northern Ireland has led politics. A lot of business people have been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Sir John Major (26 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: I also extend a warm welcome to Sir John Major. We are delighted to have him here today. The architects of the Good Friday Agreement giving evidence is a very important piece of work. While some may argue that Sir John was not an architect of the Good Friday Agreement, he certainly set the foundation stones along with Albert Reynolds and John Bruton. His presentation today was quite...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill and the UK Government's Plans around the Human Rights Act: Amnesty International UK (10 Nov 2022)

Niall Blaney: ...reckless and it must come to an end. Mr. O'Hare and Mr. Reavey outlined how victims across Northern Ireland are being re-traumatised. The cold approach by the British Government is reckless. What is going on is disgraceful. They sit in their Parliament and do not have any concern for the victims across Northern Ireland. It is unbelievable, in this day and age, that we are back where...

Seanad: Housing for All: Statements (Resumed) (8 Nov 2022)

Niall Blaney: ...Deputy Peter Burke and the Minister for the work they have done since coming to office. We can talk until the cows come home about this matter. Those in opposition can criticise us and we have a go at them, but there is a reality to the discussion of Housing for All. Facts speak louder than anything else. It is very difficult to listen to some of the Trump-speak coming from the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Bertie Ahern (20 Oct 2022)

Niall Blaney: ...putting together a great report. Some of Mr. Ahern's former colleagues who were involved across the different parties have given some great contributions. I am coming from that perspective of going back 25 years ago and all the effort Mr. Ahern put into Northern Ireland and building relations. I ask him to give us a picture first and foremost of why he saw the need to do this. What...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Mark Durkan (29 Sep 2022)

Niall Blaney: We are moving on to the Fianna Fáil slot. I will take seven minutes and give Deputy Lawless the last eight. Mr. Durkan referenced Mr. John Hume and relations. From my perspective, the Irish Government is leading in this area through the work and research being done by the shared island unit. What is Mr. Durkan's opinion on that? It is investigating 62 relevant aspects. One of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Mark Durkan (29 Sep 2022)

Niall Blaney: ...the way down and for being here in person today and contributing to this debate. It is one that I personally find very intriguing because I think we have to learn from the past before we can move forward. We have to have an understanding of why those who took major steps and put their neck out did so and of the spirit in which they did so. We have to give leadership to the political...

Seanad: Electoral Reform Bill 2022: Second Stage (21 Jun 2022)

Niall Blaney: I commend the Bill and the work that has gone into it heretofore. The establishment of an electoral commission under the Bill is monumental and overdue. Any democratic Government must aim to include as many people as possible in the electoral process and remove barriers to voting. There are also welcome changes to incentivise electoral boundary decision-making processes that will hopefully...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement: Mr. Tim O'Connor (26 May 2022)

Niall Blaney: For me, that is a vital element. Today, different things are going on behind the scenes, such as the protocol, Brexit, the shared island unit and creating shared spaces as we all move forward. For me, this is vitally important. We need to know from the one period of time on this island when they did all agree what was the architecture, what was happening in the room, how trust was gained,...

Seanad: Credit Union Sector: Statements (2 Mar 2022)

Niall Blaney: ...and selling them to vulture funds. This left many couples across this island in no man's land and they are still there today. It is an awful tragedy but it is another day's work, so I will not go into it now. Credit unions are community-based initiatives. Other speakers are certainly correct in saying they were not the cause of the crash. They are trusted financial organisations that...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Solar Panels for Public Buildings, Schools, Homes and Other Premises) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (16 Feb 2022)

Niall Blaney: The Minister of State is very welcome here today to deal with this vital legislation. I commend my Green Party colleagues on taking it forward. Senator Garvey has been pushing the merits of this very step on me for some months now, and I am fully in agreement with her. It is excellent legislation. The Fianna Fáil party is very much in agreement with the principles of the legislation....