Results 2,221-2,240 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Dec 2005)

David Norris: I very much welcome and look forward to a strong and robust inquiry, properly established by this House.

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Dec 2005)

David Norris: They should stop shouting. I cannot hear.

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: I support the calls for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to come to the House and make a statement. We should have a debate on the matter, at the very least. However, I find myself in some disagreement with my colleague and friend, Senator Brian Hayes. I do not think the Connolly response is more important than the issues facing the Minister. Mr. Connolly is a single...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Will the Leader ask the Minister, if he is not able to come to the House, to answer two specific questions? The Minister indicated that democracy was under threat and there was a threat to public safety. If he is not able to come to the House I ask the Leader to inquire of him as to the nature of that threat to the State. The Minister has not spelled that out. In what manner was it properly...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Under the Constitution. The Senator should remember that.

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: That is a completely separate issue.

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Why does the Senator not deal with the abuse of power?

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: She should be in Government on her own.

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Hear, hear, the Senator is absolutely right.

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: I am grateful to Senator O'Toole for sharing his time with me. I agree with him on the impact that the multinationals have had on bookshops and record shops but such a situation came about a long time ago. Most will remember the local bakeries put out of business by these multiples. I remember how Dunnes Stores screwed its suppliers to the wall with "hello money", exclusive arrangements and...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: The arguments of these groups should be taken seriously. I will ask a light question. The Minister talks about expertise being available through one of the largest university systems in the country. As Senator Leyden put it, he should "name and shame" and let us know which university it is. I presume it is UCD.

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Apparently, we have the benefit of the expertise of universities. The Minister goes on to say the groceries order does not and never has operated as a ban on below-cost selling, which may well be true. He also makes interesting points about the difference between invoice price and cost price, which leads me to the conclusion that the specific practice of below-cost selling should be...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (13 Dec 2005)

David Norris: The order must be examined but differently from the Minister's approach. I am a discordant voice in this; it is not good for the consumer. If it is, it is good for the middle classes, who are over-represented in this House. We must take into consideration the views of those organisations in our society that seek to protect the most vulnerable. I am not convinced this legislation will do that.

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Dec 2005)

David Norris: I ask the Leader again if we can continue to have a debate on Iraq. It is very important, even though sometimes we must feel like a Greek chorus, lamenting impotently the folly and blindness of leaders. There is something very tragic in seeing a great country like the United States miring itself in the filth of the war in Iraq. To illustrate how important it is that we continue to speak out...

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Thank you, a Chathaoirligh. I agree with much of what my distinguished colleague, Senator O'Toole, said on the subject of Irish. It was very refreshing to hear the ding dong, as Gaeilge, between Senators O'Toole and Ryan. It demonstrated that the language has not quite died.

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Dec 2005)

David Norris: I am grateful to my colleagues for that and regret my own inadequacy in the language. However, I believe the argument about placenames shows an arrogant fanaticism that drives people away from Irish and it should be corrected. The translation of documents into Irish can help to revive the language, if jobs are created. Jobs are where the survival of the language rests. However, we must take a...

Seanad: University College Galway (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Ar an gcéad dul síos, cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. B'fhearr liom an Ghaeilge a labhairt go minic sa Seanad, ach níl an teanga agam go flúirseach.

Seanad: University College Galway (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Dec 2005)

David Norris: I am sorry about that because I loved Irish in school.

Seanad: University College Galway (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Dec 2005)

David Norris: I thank the Acting Chairman for that. I had a very good Irish teacher, the late Frank Peters from Cork, and as a result of his ministrations I believe I am the only person around who is still a member of the Peig Sayers fan club and appreciation society. For people like me, it opened up a whole world that I had not suspected, the world of the old Gaelic life as survived out on the islands in...

Seanad: University College Galway (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (14 Dec 2005)

David Norris: Yes, the subtitles. They are fine documentaries on that station. The Minister is being sensible and practical in this Bill unlike other elements within the Government. I completely agree with Senator O'Toole that the narrow fanatical pushing of the placename issue over the heads of local people is disastrous. It is what gets people's backs up against the language. That should not be done. We...