Results 3,741-3,760 of 9,293 for speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (22 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Minister has challenged the veracity of the Marine Institute's map as it pertains to the zero to six-mile limit. What evidence has he presented for the scale of fishing by vessels registered in this state that has been ongoing in waters off the North of Ireland since the Supreme Court's decision? Does he have evidence of the scale of fishing taking place? He has made an argument about...

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (22 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: When it commenced, many years ago, our fishing communities were not equipped, resourced or ready.

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (22 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Or protected. The injustice of the Common Fisheries Policy is an argument for another day but today we have a blank canvas to protect an immense resource, particularly the bottom mussel industry. It should be a resource for Irish citizens. Natural resources are things we have to protect and the legislation the Minister is introducing brings back a loophole that can be exploited by foreign...

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Will the Fianna Fáil Party press its amendment?

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I understand we are taking all Stages today.

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: That is very helpful and I welcome the decision to take only Second Stage today. From the perspective of most parties, the idea of providing access to all of the waters off the Irish coast for all fishermen on this island is a welcome one. I am sure Senators and the Minister will have seen the map I am holding, which shows UK territorial waters coloured in red. One of the serious concerns...

Seanad: Sea-Fisheries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: That is a position that could also secure support on this side of the water.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I wish to echo the comments of my colleague, Senator Kelleher, on the massively historic statement that will be made this evening in the Dáil. I am thinking, in particular, of the leaders of the Traveller communities across Ireland who fought for this for many years. I am sure we will revisit this issue over the next week or so. In fairness to the Leader, he has arranged a number of...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cancer Services Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Recently in the Dáil my colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty raised the issue of chemotherapy patients from County Donegal yet again being forced to travel to Galway because of the failure to recruit a consultant in Letterkenny University Hospital. The Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, was not present that day to deal with the issue and Deputy Pearse Doherty expressed his outrage....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Cancer Services Provision (23 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: The Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, should be here, considering his failure to be in the Dáil to take the recent related Topical Issue raised by my colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty. I seek clarification. It has been stated steps are being taken to appoint a full-time locum consultant breast surgeon. In my dictionary "locum" means a replacement. It is not a second full-time position to...

Seanad: Developments in Organic Sector and Greyhound Industry: Statements (22 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: As Senator Paul Daly implied, we engaged on the issue of organic farming previously. The Minister of State was the Chairman of the agriculture committee during the previous Dáil and his report was published with a range of recommendations. Apparently, quite a few remain to be implemented. Obviously, concerns were expressed to the Minister of State over the scheme. In 2015, a number...

Seanad: Transport and Tourism: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I will revisit issues I have raised with the Minister in this Chamber and elsewhere on a number of occasions. One issue is the huge gap in access to transport services for the people of the north west. On the last occasion I pointed to the map in the excellent Connected report produced by IBEC and the CBI. It sets out the motorway infrastructure and few pages following it the rail...

Seanad: Annual National Transition Statement on Climate Action and Low Carbon Development: Statements (15 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Sinn Féin is committed to reaching the State's renewable energy targets for 2020. The State has committed to generating 16% of its overall energy requirements from renewable sources by 2020. Our party will introduce measures on an ongoing basis to grow renewable energy production and to reduce Ireland's carbon emissions. This will require involvement from the State and at community...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: It is a pity Senator Colm Burke has left the Chamber because I was given an education on how we had got to where we were in the health crisis. The Minister for Health appeared on the national broadcaster to say he was ashamed and heartbroken at the revelations made. I think he is a decent man, but the policies he has put in place and the ones put in place by Fianna Fáil before him are...

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I will take only three or four.

Seanad: Derelict and Vacant Sites Bill 2017: Second Stage (8 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I appreciate that because it is very important that we hear the Minister. He is aware of the difficulty with the scale of vacant and derelict properties across the State. I know that some local authorities have identified sites which they have sought to purchase for housing. However, local authorities are not making things happen when it comes to derelict sites, leaving aside the housing...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Aquaculture Licensing: Discussion (7 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I thank Dr. Beamish for coming before us today. I have a number of questions. On the independent review, it is my understanding there has been a number of reviews carried out in the past into the licensing system. Will Dr. Beamish outline what the recommendations were from those reviews? I assume he has some of those recommendations to hand. Were they implemented? My understanding is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Aquaculture Licensing: Discussion (7 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Dr. Beamish said there were other reports into the development of aquaculture. How many were there?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Aquaculture Licensing: Discussion (7 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Could I clarify something? These directives and legislation apply across Europe. Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Aquaculture Licensing: Discussion (7 Feb 2017)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Has the Department compared its delivery time with that of government departments in other states? Is the Department happy it has the requisite staffing resources? I have spoken to departmental personnel in the past about licensing and they do not think the Department has the necessary staffing resources.