Results 61-80 of 303 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Noel Harrington

Topical Issue Debate: Offshore Islands (9 Dec 2014)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Office of the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this matter. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Kelly, for coming to the House to take it. I know he is aware of some of the issues which are affecting funding for the non-Gaeltacht islands. There has been a differentiation with regard to the funding for Gaeltacht and non-Gaeltacht islands. The former are primarily funded by...

Topical Issue Debate: Offshore Islands (9 Dec 2014)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Minister for his reply. I note the work that has been done in this area by the Minister of State at the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy McHugh, and Deputy McCarthy. As the Minister indicated, there is an uncertainty with regard to funding for Bere Island, Sherkin Island, Dursey Island, Whiddy Island, Long Island, Hare Island, Inishbofin, Inisturk and Clare...

Confidence in Taoiseach and Government: Motion (9 Dec 2014)

Noel Harrington: I suppose it would be too much to have expected something positive in that ten minutes. I ask the House to imagine Deputy Mattie McGrath with a seal of office because it would be something else.

Confidence in Taoiseach and Government: Motion (9 Dec 2014)

Noel Harrington: I am pleased to rise to support this motion of confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government, which has been provoked by Sinn Féin. In doing so, I have absolutely no confidence in the Sinn Féin leadership. The unstable, obstructive, childish antics engaged by their so-called best and brightest, should be a wake up call to the Irish people of the dysfunction that is the cult of...

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Dec 2014)

Noel Harrington: I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this Bill, which I support. It provides for the re-imposition of a water rate or water charge. Many people might not realise or even remember that households such as the one in which I lived, which had access to a public water supply, were paying approximately IR£145 per annum as late as 1996 for the pleasure of accessing public water. One...

Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Dec 2014)

Noel Harrington: When a meter was installed in one household, it discovered a leak of 1 million litres in three months. I defy the Deputy to figure out how a district meter system would discover that. In another group of 22 households, leaks of 1 million litres per week were discovered by individual metering. That is water conservation through metering, in anybody's language. It is welcome to promote...

Water Sector Reforms: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2014)

Noel Harrington: I welcome the opportunity to participate in the debate on water sector reforms. Before I make my contribution, I join in the condemnation of the treatment of the Tánaiste and her staff at the recent event in Tallaght. I remind the House that in advance of UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, the 78 women murdered by a partner since 1966...

Allegations Regarding Sexual Abuse by Members of the Provisional Republican Movement: Statements (12 Nov 2014)

Noel Harrington: Yes, that is fine. We are having this debate because of the brave stand taken by Maíria Cahill in telling us about the abuse she suffered at the hands of a member of the IRA and the subsequent events within the republican movement. People in the republican movement have confirmed that they believe the abuse took place, but that belief evaporates when it comes to implicating the Sinn...

Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 3: General (Resumed) (15 Oct 2014)

Noel Harrington: I thank the Acting Chairman for the opportunity to speak on the budget this afternoon. The implications of the budget on the various sectors and Departments have been well debated by now. I am keen to focus on how the budget will affect the constituency I represent, Cork South-West. It is mainly a rural constituency and depends on the coastal area and on tourism. It has a significant...

Agriculture Industry: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (8 Oct 2014)

Noel Harrington: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this motion. The farming industry in this country is divided along a variety of lines, including east versus west, producer versus non-producer, and those who look after the land versus those who derive some higher incomes from the land. This motion does nothing to address those realities. While it calls on the Government to carry...

Protection of Children's Health (Tobacco Smoke in Mechanically Propelled Vehicles) Bill 2012: Second Stage (8 Oct 2014)

Noel Harrington: I congratulate the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and commend Senators Crown, van Turnhout and Daly on their work in the Seanad and, latterly, this House in introducing this legislation. It is the duty of the Oireachtas to introduce and debate legislation that has a considerable benefit for certain sectors of our population. This Bill undoubtedly falls into that category. The...

Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (8 Oct 2014)

Noel Harrington: I welcome the publication of this Bill and acknowledge the good work the Minister has done in reforming legislation around the workplace and the general work of Government in ensuring that over the past year or two years, 70,000 more people are at work and on whom this legislation will directly impact and, hopefully, benefit. The Bill is to streamline the grievance process by merging the...

Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2014)

Noel Harrington: Volunteers.

Leaders' Questions (25 Sep 2014)

Noel Harrington: The Deputy mentioned "jobs for the boys".

Sport Ireland Bill 2014: Second Stage (24 Sep 2014)

Noel Harrington: It is a pleasure for me to get the opportunity to speak to this Bill. I am pleased the Minister of State is here and I compliment him on the administration of the sports capital grants, including its financing and the manner in which it was distributed to many clubs, even if the benefit was a relatively modest amount. That was the right approach and it got great value for money for the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Trade Missions Participation (10 Jul 2014)

Noel Harrington: 9. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the number of trade missions undertaken by his Department since 1 January 2013 including those organised by the Industrial Development Agency Ireland and Enterprise Ireland where there was an involvement by companies based in west Cork; and the benefits accruing to these companies and the west Cork region as a result of those trade...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Trade Missions Participation (10 Jul 2014)

Noel Harrington: I tabled this question because of the frustration many people feel. Cork is a large county and west Cork suffers from having the city in the same administrative area. When the IDA and Enterprise Ireland present figures, they present them for the whole county in the round. Cork city attracts a lot of investment and often west Cork does not attract the same attention from Enterprise Ireland...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Trade Missions Participation (10 Jul 2014)

Noel Harrington: The reply identifies the problem. Each of the companies the Minister mentioned is based in Cork city. West Cork is the size of a mid-sized county. Using Cork-based figures does not give the same appreciation of the challenge we have in attracting Enterprise Ireland industrial and commercial activity to an area the size of an ordinary county. The figures mask the reality or make...

Electoral (Amendment) (Hours of Polling) Bill 2013: Second Stage [Private Members] (4 Jul 2014)

Noel Harrington: I thank Deputy Andrew Doyle and commend him on putting forward this Bill on polling times, as giving certainty to voters on the issue is very important. I use the opportunity to mention in particular those who do not work from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., including many people in rural areas and especially in summer. For example, those in the farming sector essentially work from dawn to dusk and may...

Valuation Bill 2014: Second Stage [Private Members] (4 Jul 2014)

Noel Harrington: I welcome Deputy Cowen's Bill which results from the frustration of many people about the inflexible and hard regime that the existing rates legislation imposes on many voluntary organisations, clubs and social structures. During the more than 12 years I spent as a member of a local authority, not a week went by without a debate about how rates were being imposed and dealt with in each of...