Results 13,081-13,100 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Seanad: Harbours and Piers. (31 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I thank the Minister of State for his contribution. Would it be possible for a member of his staff to contact Vincent Lynn at Donegal County Council? He is the senior road engineer and is in charge of fisheries. We have adopted a different approach to marinas in Donegal. There are three factors to be considered: the marina in Buncrana, the ferry and the lifeboat. It would help to bring these...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I congratulate the Labour Party on putting down the motion on emigration last night. I did not get a chance to speak because time did not permit but I thank the Leader for adding to the debate, which was very constructive. I wish to put the role of ICAP, the Immigration Counselling and Psychotherapy in the UK, on the record. It is a relatively new body and I acknowledge the Government's role...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I have a question. In light of the office in London and the organisation's plans to open offices in Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Glasgow——

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: In light of that organisation's plans and forward thinking we need an ongoing debate on emigration. I will raise this issue on the Adjournment. If 30% of this body's resources and energy are spent on fund-raising in Ireland, we need the task force document to be implemented. We need more money for this area. The Minister has a role in this area and so do we.

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: He should contact Senator Bannon.

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: He has not gone away.

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: We are all singing from the same hymn sheet regarding planning guidelines and trying to accommodate and facilitate people in rural communities. That is what we all want to do. Without people, there can be no communities. We have been requesting a debate on planning, rural housing and once-off housing for approximately 18 months. The Minister and members of the Fianna Fáil Party stated that...

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: The information provided by the Minister of State will be useful to my contribution. Preparations started in September and the outcome of the meeting to which I refer was that rural housing would be the focus. RTE facilitated the process by placing a good spin on the issue of once-off housing in September. A few weeks later, Brian Dobson travelled to Galway to interview the Minister for...

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I apologise. I am from Donegal and we sometimes do not even get newspapers because we live so far away.

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: There was a major build up and people's expectations were high. Everything was waiting for the Ard-Fheis to be used as the launching pad. Everyone on this side of the House was aware of what was going on. We have now been presented with the guidelines and they are only that. There is a consultative process and the guidelines are not set in stone and no legal mechanism has been created. They...

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: What confidence will they have when they discover that nothing has changed within the county development plan, that the policy has not been altered and that they will again be refused? That is wrong, it sends a negative message and it does nothing to instil public confidence. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, will convey my views to the Minister, Deputy Cullen. I intend no...

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: The Minister can, at times, be erratic. When we tried to engage him in debate earlier, he became defensive. Senators Paddy Burke, Bannon and others from my party have been calling for this debate for a long period and it would have been good if the Minister could have remained in the House for the duration of it. I ask the Minister of State to convey to the Minister that we do not have the...

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I agree with the Senator.

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: They are probably members of Fianna Fáil.

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I call on the Leader to arrange a debate on a related topic, namely economic policy in Northern Ireland. We can move away from the reactive issues which we always talk about in regard to Northern Ireland when there is a punishment beating or political impasse. While the symbolism of checkpoints has been removed along the Border, we still have social and economic partition. We must devise a...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects. (4 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Callely, to the House and express my appreciation for the time he is taking to listen to the Adjournment matters. I welcome yesterday's announcement of short-term funding to address the functionality and day to day running of St. Eunan's College. The board of management of St. Eunan's College and the school...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects. (4 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: Perhaps the Cathaoirleach will be happy to allow him to do that to enable him to provide the House with feedback on the bands system.

Seanad: Schools Building Projects. (4 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: We have what are termed "deliverables" in the consultancy game. Hopefully, the term "brilliant" which was applied to the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, can be extended to and associated with the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey.

Seanad: Address by Mr. John Hume, MEP. (3 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: I pay tribute to John Hume on behalf of the people of Donegal. He will not mind me being parochial because we claim a little ownership of him. He is an adopted son because he is regularly seen in Greencastle on Sunday nights in a wee restaurant. He is very much part of the social infrastructure there.

Seanad: Address by Mr. John Hume, MEP. (3 Mar 2004)

Joe McHugh: That is good public relations. I entered politics five years ago and the first time I met John Hume was in that restaurant in Greencastle. My father went up to his table and introduced him to me. I was angling to get some advice from the wise old fox but, when he found out my mother was a nurse, he was more interested in speaking to her because the nurses' strike was on at that time. He was...