Results 2,221-2,240 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Review of White Paper on Irish Aid: Statements, Questions and Answers (9 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State, Deputy Joe Costello, is getting fond of Members and comes quite regularly to the Seanad. I am delighted he is wearing his current hat because his words give us confidence that we can achieve far more than we might otherwise have done. A billion people fall asleep hungry every night. That is a major challenge. As Senator Lorraine Higgins has said, while we may argue...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Several steps are being taken by the Government that seem to be working in the direction of job creation, something to which Senators O'Keeffe and Bradford have referred. Another step was yesterday's announcement of Springboard's plan for this year. Springboard is a scheme whereby the State allocates a considerable sum of money to develop people who already have qualifications, but not...

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (10 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is very welcome to the Seanad for this debate. I add my voice to those of both the previous speakers. The evidence is that Trinity College has existed for, I think, 420 years and is managed very well. The other universities have been there for well over 100 years. Not only have they succeeded for that length of time but, as Senator Crown has said, they have enjoyed...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Five years ago the European Union established a missing children's hotline and we debated it here last year. The EU urged every one of the nations of Europe to introduce the hotline 116000 and it can be contacted immediately when a child goes missing. A few minutes ago I telephoned the number and it still has not been set up in Ireland even though it has been set up in most European states....

Seanad: Mortgage Arrears: Statements, Questions and Answers (15 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, who seems to be getting fond of the House, as we see him here quite a lot. The major issue in dealing with mortgage arrears is making exceptions for one group but not for another. It will never be easy to strike a balance. If somebody decides to enjoy himself and have good time while his neighbour balances his budget and pays as much as he can, his neighbour...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: A number of us attended the commemoration at Arbour Hill of those who died for Ireland in 1916. I mention this because of the pride I have in our Army. The professionalism on display when the President laid the wreath this morning leaves me with little doubt that the Army deserves huge respect. Over the weekend the Irish Pharmacy Union issued a statement about fatalities from cardiovascular...

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2012: Second Stage (16 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State to the House again. He is obviously getting very fond of us. Touching on something Senator Sheahan said, I remember a similar Bill to this just a few years ago, in 2009. Review is ongoing and we need to do it every so often. It was interesting to hear Senator O'Donovan talk about learning Latin. I met an American lady the other day who asked about my...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: We have been talking today about anniversaries and dates. Later this year, the date of 11 December, is the 90th anniversary of the establishment of the first Seanad on 11 December 1922. I ask if we should recognise that event. That Seanad was abolished in 1936 but came back into being in this present form in 1937. The original Seanad was very effective in much of its work. I suggest the...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister to the House. I found the Minister's figures interesting, in particular those from the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2011. I am impressed to hear that Ireland ranks first in respect of corporate taxes, business legislation, foreign investment and availability of skilled labour, second for consumer price inflation and third for direct inward investment and financial...

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Cooperation and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I enjoyed listening to Senator Norris because he speaks with such strength and ability to express his view, but I do not agree with him.

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Cooperation and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I got involved in a European organisation in 2006. When I went to Brussels, Paris and other cities, I found that we were regarded very highly. We had been at the bottom of the pile and had come up to have the highest GDP per capita along with Luxembourg. We had more people employed - with 2 million employed compared with 1 million 15 years earlier. Everybody asked how we did it. We did...

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Cooperation and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: No, anything but.

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Cooperation and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Clearly, other countries have not been able to do that. Whether one runs a family home, a business or a country-----

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Cooperation and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: -----one must get one's figures right. One cannot spend more than one takes in. One can for a short period. During a tough time one can borrow, but during the good times one puts one's money aside.

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Cooperation and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: That is happening. This stability treaty tells us that during the good times the EU wants us to allocate some money for the rainy day, but during the tough times it will allow us to borrow. What it and we do not want to do is to find ourselves in a situation where we have no banker, have thrown the key of the bank away and have no chance to go back. It is essential that during the tough...

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Cooperation and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (17 May 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Yes, he certainly has views about it. He predicted that Spanish and Italian depositors will try to move money to Germany, forcing the ECB to intervene or accept the end of the euro. There is a danger that we could see the end of the euro, and I accept that. However, I believe the eurozone, and Ireland being part of it, is of huge benefit to Europe and us. I have no wish to throw that...

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Last week the European Court of Justice ruled on MasterCard's multilateral interchange fee. This is quite an important decision but has not received much attention. It applies only to cross-border transactions but its effect startled me. It will mean a reduction in costs to European consumers - solely for cross-border transactions - of €25 billion per year. The court ruled the...

Seanad: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is welcome. It was a joy to listen to her speak and also a joy to listen Senator Keane who has a great deal of experience in this area. I have met her in Rathfarnham where she is actively involved in a committee. I have had an interesting morning. I attended the business improvement district conference that took place in the Westbury Hotel. A great deal of work is...

Seanad: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: He is very good. Dublin City Corporation alone has 6,000 employees, half of whom are administrative, that is, they do not work in the fire services or the libraries and nor are they street cleaners. Red tape under this bureaucracy can also be bad for business. With local government reform I would like to see, like many others, the planning process streamlined. The process of making an...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Last week it was announced that protected geographical indiction status, PGI, was being allocated to Lough Neagh eels. I say this with pride because my maternal grandfather was an eel fisherman on Lough Neagh. The reason I mention this is that I have discovered that more than 50 foodstuffs in Britain, including the Cornish pasty, have obtained PGI status. Only four have been allocated such...