Results 201-220 of 2,017 for speaker:Paul Bradford

Seanad: EU Presidency: Motion. (7 Jul 2004)

Paul Bradford: I welcome the Minister to the House. He has frequently attended debates on matters of European and foreign policy in recent years. Geographically, we may be at the periphery of Europe but we are at the core of European politics. What the Minister of State and his Government colleagues have completed over the past weeks and months must be recognised as a significant achievement. The lengthy...

Seanad: EU Presidency: Motion. (7 Jul 2004)

Paul Bradford: We are simply missing the smoke. Of course the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin, would not allow us to use smoke, white or black. We must wish the incoming President well. He has an enormous challenge on his hands and I hope he will be up to the job. Now that the appointment is made, the next issue on which the Taoiseach will have to contemplate as part of the overall jigsaw of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Jul 2004)

Paul Bradford: I support the call for a debate on the enterprise strategy report. I presume there will not be sufficient time next week to schedule anything other than brief statements but it is important that time should be set aside for a debate at the earliest date. This is an interesting and fundamental report and its recommendations on immigration and migrant labour present a major challenge to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Jul 2004)

Paul Bradford: I support the call for a further debate on decentralisation, a matter we have raised in the House on several occasions. Everybody agrees with the necessity for decentralisation and that it is socially and economically desirable but, as of now, the Government policy on decentralisation needs to be saved from Government politics on decentralisation. The plan and programme is in a mess as we saw...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Jul 2004)

Paul Bradford: ——and their religious tradition and culture. It is a gross violation of international human rights. We are very selective in the human rights causes we champion and I hope we will send a strong message of condemnation to the Chinese authorities over its efforts to wipe the Tibetan people off the map.

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Jul 2004)

Paul Bradford: I indicated to Senator Leyden that the Fianna Gael party would be supportive of the motion he wishes to proposes and I wish to put that support on the record. The plight of undocumented Irish workers in the United States is a timely issue which has been debated in this House on numerous occasions. We must once more, as on so many occasions in the past, call on the United States authorities to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Jul 2004)

Paul Bradford: No. I welcome the motion and if it is formally moved we will support it.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Sep 2004)

Paul Bradford: I join in the words of welcome to Jody Blake and Senator Kate Walsh. I support the call from my colleague, Senator Bannon, that the Minister for Education and Science, whoever he or she may be, come to the House to discuss the closure of Sion Hill College. Some Members might not be aware of the background to this situation. It appears that the Minister's own officials and independent...

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Statements (Resumed). (30 Sep 2004)

Paul Bradford: I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this report and congratulate all those who had an input, the authors and those who made submissions. While it is an interesting debate, the question of reforming the Seanad is almost as old as the Seanad. We should not delude ourselves into believing there would be rejoicing on the streets and wild parties and celebration if, suddenly, the...

Seanad: Child Care Services. (30 Sep 2004)

Paul Bradford: How could she refuse these groups?

Seanad: Job Losses. (30 Sep 2004)

Paul Bradford: I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me to raise this matter. This is probably the Minister's first engagement in the Houses as the new Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I congratulate him on his appointment to a position of great importance and wish him well during his tenure. Over the next two years or so the Minister will probably drive through the town of Mitchelstown...

Seanad: Job Losses. (30 Sep 2004)

Paul Bradford: Will the Minister consider meeting the local community and business interests at the earliest possible date? It is important at local level for people to see that from the top down, the Government, politicians and those who make decisions are interested in their problem. We are not expecting solutions to flow immediately but a meeting of the various interested parties would be of assistance....

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2004)

Paul Bradford: I support Senators Norris and Leyden who asked for a debate on Iraq and on the situation in the Middle East and Israel. Those are reasonable requests and the House should respond with urgency. Another international situation exists where the scale of killing, death, destruction and slaughter is even greater and sadly does not seem to be the subject of major public outcry or numerous letters...

Seanad: Kidnapping of Irish Citizen: Motion. (21 Oct 2004)

Paul Bradford: I thank the Leader for presenting the motion, and the Minister for attending. I wish him well in his endeavours to bring whatever degree of progress he can to this sad situation. I would like to add to what he has said, but we all speak with one voice. We are so far removed from the situation in Iraq it is difficult to know what to say and more difficult to know what to do. I take on board...

Seanad: Foreign Conflicts: Motion. (27 Oct 2004)

Paul Bradford: I support the motion, which "urges the Government to redouble Ireland's efforts to bring peace to Iraq and Palestine", as I am sure every Member of the House does. Regardless of whether our efforts are being redoubled, trebled or quadrupled, we need to consider the practical steps we can take and the real impact we can make at international level to try to improve the problems in Iraq and...

Seanad: Deer Farming. (27 Oct 2004)

Paul Bradford: I support what Senator John Paul Phelan has said. Given his background, the Cathaoirleach will know that five or six years ago quite a number of people in the north Cork and west Limerick area invested heavily in deer farming, seeing it as an opportunity to stabilise their farming incomes and involve family members in the enterprise. Unfortunately most of them eventually suffered financial...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Nov 2004)

Paul Bradford: I understand one of the matters on the Adjournment concerns flooding. While this is welcome I ask the Leader to invite the Minister of State or Minister to the House to discuss the response to such flooding. Many towns are affected including Fermoy and Mallow in my area. We need to ensure that the plans in place and on the drawing boards are activated as soon as possible and it would be...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Nov 2004)

Paul Bradford: I concur with those Senators who have requested a debate with the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the earliest opportunity. As President Bush begins his second term, it is possible that he will re-engage with Europe. When we call on America to listen, we should also try to listen more closely ourselves. Problems exist on both sides of the Atlantic. A heated debate has taken place and the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Nov 2004)

Paul Bradford: The Leader will recall that a number of suggestions were made in the aftermath of the Government reshuffle. The Leader agreed to invite all the Cabinet Ministers to the House to outline their priorities for their terms of office and to have a degree of dialogue with the Seanad. Has the Leader received any co-operation from any Minister in this regard? When might this process commence?

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Nov 2004)

Paul Bradford: On a point of order, that was not what we discussed.