Results 181-200 of 228 for speaker:Déirdre de Búrca

Seanad: Health Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Dec 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and the opportunity to speak about the Health Bill 2008. It is obvious from the fractious nature of the debate in the Chamber that we are discussing an emotive issue. It is emotive because there are many older people who regard the withdrawal of universal access to a medical card by those over 70 as regressive. The Green Party did not support...

Seanad: Health Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Dec 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: Many people in Ireland are convinced by and wedded to the idea that low rates of taxation are essential to the success of the Irish economy. We need a very honest debate and I call on the Opposition to be honest in that regard. It is very easy, when in opposition, to condemn the Government for what is, in effect, a system that will provide a medical card for 95% of older people. At the...

Seanad: Health Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Dec 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: Members on the other side of the House may find themselves in a position in which they will have to make hard decisions in the near future.

Seanad: Health Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Dec 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: A Government should be capable of making decisions that may not be very popular among the public. This Health Bill advocates as fair a system as could be asked for by the State in the sense that, under it, 95% of older people will be looked after. The system we are introducing in the Bill was designed to minimise hardship and undue anxiety among those over 70. Those aged 70 and over on 31...

Seanad: Gun Crime: Statements (18 Dec 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House. I welcome also this timely debate on gun crime. There is much public anxiety and a genuine sense of insecurity about the current level of gun crime. The public is looking for a strong and adequate response. There is no scope for the legal possession of handguns in this country. Other Members have said that almost 1,300 guns,...

Seanad: Report on European Union Scrutiny: Statements (3 Feb 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House. I also welcome the opportunity to discuss this final proposal of the European Parliament and Council on the provision of food information to consumers. Food is becoming an increasingly political issue. As elected representatives, we are all aware of the kind of issues with which we have had to deal in recent years in regard to...

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House. I am very happy to second the motion. I would like to address particularly the issue of microfinancing across Europe and the need to promote a much greater availability of these services to address the growing levels of unemployment due to the economic crisis in the EU and globally. As my colleague, Senator Boyle, said, microfinance aims to close the...

Seanad: Appointments to State Agencies and Public Bodies: Motion (8 Apr 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I second the motion. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome my party's Private Members' motion. As a member of a party that is committed to the whole process of political reform, this motion is very much in keeping with the Green Party's approach to that issue. On the day after a very difficult budget was announced, if we examine some of the provisions of that budget we...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his overview of the current Government position on Ireland's overseas development aid policy. I welcome, too, the opportunity to discuss this issue today because the recent cutbacks in the overseas development aid programme have caused significant concern in many quarters. We are in a period of financial collapse. The...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I would love to hear where the Opposition believes we will find €16 billion to €20 billion in the coming years. If we do not, we will render ourselves bankrupt and will see the International Monetary Fund making decisions about this country and how it is run. I would prefer that we do it ourselves, which would be much more helpful. That is why the leader of my party suggested the idea...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: It is important to put that in context. I believe the tone of today's motion is somewhat self-congratulatory. Admittedly, the OECD report vindicates many of the positive aspects about Irish overseas development aid policy to date. That is a good thing but we are in danger of becoming complacent and failing to recognise the serious impact of recent cutbacks on our overseas development aid...

Seanad: Human Trafficking: Motion (10 Jun 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Curran. I congratulate Senator Mullen on tabling this coherent and intellectually well put together motion. He has argued that we need to strengthen this country's human trafficking legislation, especially in so far as it relates to the sexual exploitation of women and children. I agree with the main point the motion seems to make, which is that...

Seanad: Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009: Second Stage (23 Jun 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: Like other Members of the House, I welcome the opportunity to debate this appropriate legislation. Some Senators have said it is long overdue. There has certainly been a crying need for it. The legislation sets out to regulate new and existing multi-unit developments. That might sound like gobbledygook to most people but it refers generally to apartment living. We all recognise that...

Seanad: Unemployment: Motion (1 Jul 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State and second the motion proposed by my colleague, Senator Dan Boyle. This motion addresses the growing challenge of unemployment facing the country. We are all aware that the global community is grappling with an economic and financial crisis but that we have our own domestic strain of that crisis. We face an uncertain future and it is clear that growing levels...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008: Second Stage (2 Jul 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State. I am thankful for the opportunity to engage in this debate on the Bill. We are all aware that public access to health services is becoming increasingly important. Some Senators referred to circumstances in the United States where 47 million people find themselves without health insurance. Health services and access thereto are becoming increasingly...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Second Stage (2 Jul 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is the first of a number of legislative measures that will come before us in an attempt to rationalise and introduce greater efficiencies in the agencies and statutory bodies we have established over the years. It is interesting to hear the squeals of outrage already coming from the other side of the House from parties which state that if they were...

Seanad: Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Jul 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and am glad to have the opportunity to discuss the Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill. I hope the Minister will forgive me when I say there is a slight sense of déjÀ vu about this because we sat here before the last Lisbon referendum and discussed the treaty, the campaign and so on. Looking back with the benefit of...

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Jul 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State and I welcome the opportunity to debate this point of sale amendment to the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts 2002 and 2004. It is important that we are debating the proposed amendments. We have seen a huge cultural change in our attitudes to smoking. When I was younger and going to pubs and clubs, smoking was part and parcel of everyday life in Ireland. It was...

Seanad: Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (13 Oct 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: On behalf of the Green Party, I express my extreme regret at the sudden passing of Senator Peter Callanan. As a relatively new Senator - I have been in the Seanad for a little over two years - I remember that Senator Callanan was one of the first to extend the hand of friendship to me. Other Senators have mentioned that he always had a twinkle in his eye and a dry or witty remark to make...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2009)

Déirdre de Búrca: I refer to the issue we discussed yesterday, Deputy Kenny's proposal that the Seanad be abolished. I was disappointed I did not get an opportunity to contribute. It was a good and lively debate. I do not agree with Deputy Kenny's proposal to abolish the Seanad, although I strongly believe there is a necessity to reform the Seanad soon. However, what Deputy Kenny is proposing, that the...