Results 2,281-2,300 of 3,523 for speaker:Lucinda Creighton

Seanad: EU Presidency: Statements, Questions and Answers (Resumed) (10 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: We can discuss the matter. I have proposed to the Chairman of the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs, Deputy Dominic Hannigan, that I provide the joint committee with a full and comprehensive briefing on the Presidency in June. I had hoped to do so much sooner, but it has not been practical to do so, as everyone is busy and tied up with the referendum. The committee, for instance,...

EU Presidency (22 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: Preparations for Ireland's EU Presidency are under way in all Departments. Significant progress has been made in setting Presidency priorities for the first six months of 2013. The Presidency is an important opportunity for Ireland to rebuild its positive image as a credible, effective and trustworthy international player. At a practical level, the Government has taken a number of...

EU Presidency (22 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: That is the ballpark figure. The detail of that will be expanded on as we get closer to the Presidency and the procurement process is completed. The ballpark figure is essentially the same as the cost of the Hungarian Presidency and the current Danish Presidency. The Polish Presidency had a bigger budget that will not be available to us, quite frankly. This is really about common sense....

EU Presidency (22 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: The Deputies know as well as I do that when Ministers go to these events, they want to do their business and get out of there as quickly as they can. Time is precious. A total of 160 meetings will take place during the Irish Presidency. Some of them will be held outside Dublin. The vast majority of them, including all of the informal ministerial meetings, will take place in Dublin. I...

EU Presidency (22 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: It goes without saying that we will use the Presidency to showcase Irish goods and services. The Government intends to use the tendering process to ensure, as far as possible while complying with our legal obligations, that Irish companies are given every opportunity to showcase their goods and to benefit. The Presidency will have enormous potential for the restaurant industry and the...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (22 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: Hear, hear.

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (22 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: I will try to stick to the topic at hand. I welcome Deputies' contributions and, while I do not agree with the sentiment of many speakers, I appreciate their point of view. Growth and stability are key foundations for our recovery, at home and in Europe. The new treaty will help to build the stability Europe needs for the future. The discussion tomorrow evening will help to inject real...

Northern Ireland Issues (23 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: Especially for the Deputy.

Northern Ireland Issues (23 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: I am replying to this matter in the absence of the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Gilmore. The peace process and the Good Friday Agreement have resulted in a transformation of society in Northern Ireland, perhaps most visibly in the normalisation of daily life and the dramatic decrease in terrorist-related incidents and violence. There remains, however, as the...

Northern Ireland Issues (23 May 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: It is not really for me to provide specific details on what is being done in this regard. I am sure the Tánaiste will discuss the matter with the Deputy in the House when he gets an opportunity to do so. It is clear that substantial funding is being spent through various North-South initiatives on either side of the Border. I agree with the Deputy that the most logical way of proceeding...

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: As many of the questions are interlinked, I will try to provide for as much clarity as I can. The outcome of the referendum changes matters a little from Ireland's perspective on the debt burden. I do not wish to overstate it, however, as we have already been criticised in the media and elsewhere for linking the result on Friday with the issue of bank debt. I do not wish to do that...

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: May I take that as a compliment?

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: I offered them a strong coffee when I met them after the meeting of the joint committee.

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: That is not true.

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: I am alarmed to hear "Hear, hear" from the back row of the Chamber. The notion it could be in Ireland's interest to leave the euro is farcical.

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: We have no intention of leaving the second largest currency in the world and leading the country off a cliff and into perdition, which is being advocated by some.

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: That is absolute nonsense and we have no intention of doing so.

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: If Deputy Flanagan wants us to become a country with virtually no regulation, rock bottom taxation levels and so on, I would be interested to hear his proposals. They would have to be very much in contradiction of what he has been espousing in this Chamber for the past 14 or 15 months. However, making U-turns is, perhaps, something with which he is not unfamiliar.

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: If the Deputy wants me to answer his questions I will do so.

European Council: Statements (6 Jun 2012)

Lucinda Creighton: With regard to interest rates, the ECB is independent. It is too autonomous, in my opinion. It is for the governing board of the ECB to set interest rates. It is disappointing that the anticipated interest rate reduction did not happen on this occasion. I expect it will happen next month, at the very latest. Mr. Mario Draghi has been a revelation in the ECB. Dramatic strides have been...