Results 201-220 of 5,294 for speaker:Michael McCarthy

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Michael McCarthy: The Minister for Finance is Cheltenham Charlie, though I have half a dozen other names for him. I am sticking to the text of our Private Members' motion. If the Government Senators think that children's health is a flippant issue that deserves nothing but snide comments and smiles, perhaps that is reflection of Government thinking with regard to the medical card issue. The manner in which...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Mar 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Yesterday the Leader expressed the view that the war in Iraq was illegal. If so, does she and the Government believe President Bush and Prime Minister Blair should be indicted for war crimes? Yesterday the Minister for Finance confirmed that there was no prospect of the promised additional 2,000 extra gardaí coming on stream. I ask the Leader to arrange for the Minster for Justice, Equality...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Mar 2003)

Michael McCarthy: They are being sold on the black market at exorbitant prices.

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Mar 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Will the Leader ask the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism to look into the matter?

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Mar 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Yes.

Seanad: Government Policy and the Provision of Services for the Elderly: Statements. (15 Apr 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I, too, welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Callely. I did not realise that Senator Feeney was a woman of so many parts.

Seanad: Government Policy and the Provision of Services for the Elderly: Statements. (15 Apr 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I was referring to her recent election to the Seanad. I understand Senators Feeney and Feighan began with a quote. I think it was Kofi Annan who said about two years ago, "We will all be old some day, with a bit of luck." The elderly are a particular category to whom we owe a massive debt of gratitude for what they have done for us and for the way in which they have contributed to what we...

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Apr 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I wish to raise the proposed ban on smoking in public places. This follows on from a murder last week in a New York night club in which a bouncer asked a patron to extinguish his cigarette. This resulted in the stabbing of the bouncer who died 11 hours later in hospital. The Vintners Federation of Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation have raised concern as to how the Minister for Health...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I wish to raise an issue with the Leader of the House regarding an article which appeared in The Sunday Tribune last Sunday week. According to this story, it is possible that the Minister for the Environment might receive extra funding from the Minister for Finance for the local government fund. I would appreciate if the Leader would clarify whether there is any truth in the article, for if...

Seanad: Licensing of Indoor Events Bill 2001: Committee and Remaining Stages. (7 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I, too, acknowledge and appreciate the professional manner in which the Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, dealt with this legislation. As we know, the fire service provides an absolutely vital emergency service and those involved risk life and limb to ensure there is a better and far safer society. Society deserves and demands no less from us than the speedy passage of this legislation for...

Seanad: Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption: Motion. (7 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Absolutely.

Seanad: Tobacco and Alcohol Consumption: Motion. (7 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and thank him for his contribution. On 16 April last I informed the House about an incident in a New York nightclub where a patron who was asked by a bouncer to extinguish his cigarette was stabbed and subsequently died after six or seven hours in hospital. I conditioned my comments on the Order of Business that day by saying that I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: An article in this morning's edition of The Irish Times deals with the cost of care for the elderly. According to a report initiated by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the cost of providing nursing home care and home help for the elderly is set to jump by 60% over the next decade. That is a huge increase and should set off alarm bells. The report concludes that there is a...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I am a member of a political party which bravely abolished third level fees during the early 1990s. That decision, by former Deputy Niamh Breathnach, was not only brave but visionary. Where was this proposal when the Government's election manifesto was revealed on a daily basis amid great pomp and ceremony? Was it in the newspapers or on a radio or television programme? No, it was not. The...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: If a proposal, or review as the Government is now calling it, of this magnitude goes ahead, it will hurt thousands of people, not least those who are on the margins, on middle and average incomes. There are plenty of opportunities for the Minister to raise revenue if he is serious about running a Department. He can chase his friends in the bloodstock industry or perhaps consult his friends in...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: The Government has betrayed the trust of the democratic citizens of this Republic.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: We are presented with these mini-budgets on a daily and weekly basis and the Government's arrogance and contempt for the electorate is nearly as brazen and cheeky as the day or week before. The Minister can use the taxation system—

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: —as well he knows. This decision is pathetic and it will hurt thousands of people.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: It will be a decision.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: If Fianna Fáil Senators wish to wear blinkers, then woe betide them when they are knocking on doors next year, looking for votes to return their candidates to local authorities and the European Parliament. If the Government is that blinkered and the Minister is not willing to fight the Department of Finance for appropriate funding for his Department, as a Minister should, perhaps he should...