Results 61-80 of 302 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Noel Harrington

Mackerel Fisheries (6 Mar 2012)

Noel Harrington: The Minister will be aware of the issues involved and I support him in his efforts to have this situation in the north-east Atlantic mackerel fishery resolved as soon as possible. The Faroe Islands and Iceland have a share of north-eastern Atlantic quota for mackerel that was agreed between the nations and the EU at 6% of the total allowable catch in the north-east Atlantic. Unfortunately,...

Mackerel Fisheries (6 Mar 2012)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Minister for his response. We are aware the Minister and the officials in his Department are taking this issue seriously. He has brought the matter to the European Commission with great force. The EU fisheries industry is not entirely clean in this regard, regrettably, as these breaches are being supported by vessels that departed the EU fisheries register to help the Icelandic...

Sale of State Assets: Statements (8 Mar 2012)

Noel Harrington: I wish to share my time with Deputy Mulherin. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the proposal to sell some of the assets that the State currently enjoys. It is just gone a year since the last election, and one of the serious mandates this Government was given at the time was to sort out the mess the country was in. One could boil it down to nothing less than fixing the intolerable...

Mahon Tribunal Report: Statements (Resumed) (29 Mar 2012)

Noel Harrington: I welcome the opportunity to speak on the findings of the Mahon tribunal. The State has mainly been led by Fianna Fáil-led Governments since its foundation. Unfortunately, they have not served the country as best as they might have done, as outlined in the Mahon report. A gallery of three former taoisigh has been paraded through tribunals to account for decisions. It must be remembered...

Road Safety Authority (Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness) Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (2 May 2012)

Noel Harrington: I welcome this Bill as another step in a co-ordinated approach for ensuring our roads are safer for drivers, passengers and pedestrians. It addresses two critical issues, namely, the transfer of testing of commercial vehicles to the Road Safety Authority and the transfer of the administration of driving licences from local authorities to the same body. I take this opportunity to welcome the...

Departmental Staff (10 May 2012)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue for debate as a Topical Issue. It is a matter of vital importance to the population of Castletownbere on the remote Beara Peninsula. The town has a population of approximately 1,500 with perhaps twice or three times that number living on the peninsula this social welfare office serves. The office serves not only the population of the...

Departmental Staff (10 May 2012)

Noel Harrington: That might give the Minister of State an idea of the geography involved. We are not asking for much. We just ask that the office remain open one day a week rather than the proposed monthly service in premises for which the Department already has a contract. While I know this is a very local issue, it is an important reflection of how the Department deals with vulnerable clients in...

Departmental Staff (10 May 2012)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Minister of State for his response detailing the services available currently in Castletownbere. His response confirms that the service provided is counted more in hours per month than in days per month. This gets us to the issue in respect of this particular office. We do not have a FÁS office, a citizens advice bureau, a family resource centre or the support services other...

Leaders' Questions (17 May 2012)

Noel Harrington: That was a great audition for the leadership.

Leaders' Questions (17 May 2012)

Noel Harrington: What about Northern Ireland?

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 May 2012)

Noel Harrington: I welcome the Bill as another small step in the programme of recovery for the country and another commitment in the programme for Government that has been achieved. In a recent speech the Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland, Professor Patrick Honohan, highlighted the fact that credit conditions for SMEs were tougher in Ireland than anywhere else in the eurozone, in terms of both cost and...

Construction Contracts Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (20 Jun 2012)

Noel Harrington: I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, and I am pleased to support the Bill. Like previous speakers, I recognise the tenacity of Senator Feargal Quinn in proposing the Bill in the current and previous Seanad. I also acknowledge the work of Mr. Seán Gallagher in bringing forward the Bill. The Minister of State has said he will be introducing amendments to the Bill on...

Statute Law Revision Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Second and Subsequent Stages (21 Jun 2012)

Noel Harrington: I very much welcome this Bill and the Minister of State. As Deputy Kyne mentioned, the way laws were enacted in the past is interesting. This is the third in a series of Bills following a comprehensive review of legislation enacted by the House of Commons between 1750 and 6 December 1922. I noted the Minister of State's opening comments regarding retrieving the original documents. It is a...

Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2012)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this issue and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Shortall, to the Chamber. West Cork does not have what one would call a normal accident and emergency unit. We have a good service in Bantry hospital that covers cardiac and respiratory emergencies but we do not have a dedicated accident and emergency unit. Our ambulance service is our accident...

Ambulance Service (5 Jul 2012)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Minister of State for her response. I fully understand what the ambulance service is trying to do, both in west Cork and nationally. However, I want to come back to the deficiency in the ambulance service in Skibbereen, currently and possibly for a number of weeks because this particular paramedic is on sick leave. We all have heard in recent public debates how sick leave...

An Bille um an Aonú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (Leanaí) 2012: An Dara Céim (Atógáil) - Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Sep 2012)

Noel Harrington: I welcome this Bill and congratulate the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Fitzgerald, on introducing it to the House. The purpose of the Bill is to hold a referendum to allow us to include in our Constitution an amendment to recognise children in their own right and to allow their interests to be considered. The amendment proposes constitutional change based on the key...

Leaders' Questions (4 Oct 2012)

Noel Harrington: The Deputy was not there.

Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Oct 2012)

Noel Harrington: I support the Bill because more than 60% of the people and 66% of those in Cork South-West voted in favour of the referendum on 31 May. That cannot be ignored by those who speak about there being a democratic deficit. The Bill deals with the core issue of the functions of this House, namely, to raise taxes from citizens and provide that these moneys are spent for the benefit and in the...

Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Oct 2012)

Noel Harrington: However, they must remember that the people voted for the Government by a considerable majority to remedy the situation and that they confirmed that decision by voting in favour of the fiscal compact in the referendum. In simple terms, we cannot borrow money if we cannot pay it back and, to paraphrase a former Taoiseach, we are living way beyond our means. How well he knew it. According...

Prospects for Irish Economy: Statements (Resumed) (24 Oct 2012)

Noel Harrington: I welcome the opportunity for us, as representatives of the Irish people, to discuss the state of the economy. I presume we are having this debate because we have been in recession for the last four years. The previous Governments, between 1997 and 2011, were reckless. A dictionary definition of "reckless" we looked at suggests wild carelessness and disregard for consequences. This...