Results 2,401-2,420 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Emer Costello, MEP (28 Feb 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I call Senator Moran, who has five minutes.

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Emer Costello, MEP (28 Feb 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome Ms Costello to the House. I thank her for saying those nice words about the House. We hope we are here next year and the following year to honour those. I have a couple of questions, one of which relates to safe food in Europe. Is there a danger, particularly after what has happened with the discovery in Ireland of the horsemeat scandal, that the image the European Union has of...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome this Bill for its rather limited effect in reducing the number of Deputies. I have long called for a reduction. We really need a much greater reduction in the number of Deputies in order to make them work. The taxpayer is paying for backbenchers who say very little - or sometimes, nothing - during the year and who are told how they must vote by their own party. We need to get...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I would like the House to debate energy matters again. The last time we talked about the issue and attempted to bring up the question of nuclear energy we came up against the argument that the disposal of spent nuclear fuel posed a huge danger. A solution to this problem was developed recently. On that basis, it would be timely to have another debate on nuclear energy because, compared...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is welcome to the House. Nobody welcomes any tax. This is one we debated some time back and we are not here to debate it again. We are here to debate the exemptions. I will make a few suggestions. Should we consider applying some discount where there are fewer than two residents in a property? The exemption could be based on census figures. In the United Kingdom,...

Seanad: Seanad Electoral Reform Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: While the Minister is welcome, I must admit this is a Bill I support. We should support it and I urge everybody in the House to give it serious consideration. I have been a Member of the House for 20 years and viewed the very good work done in this Seanad. When we consider the number of times it has corrected and amended legislation, it would be a shame to abolish it. I do not agree with...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I support Senator Mary Ann O'Brien's words on food labelling, especially on Irish food. There is a huge amount of work to be done in that regard. I imagine it is for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to do it. It is not just a question of identifying Irish food and putting customers' minds at rest, it is also a question of using "best before" instead of "use by" when it...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (7 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is welcome back to the House. It must be borne in mind that the VEC system has been around almost untouched since the 1930s. This Bill is a positive move to improve their functioning. It will also reduce the paperwork associated with the various vocational Acts. I wish to make a couple of broad points related to the objectives of the Bill. I am a little concerned...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: Can the Leader find time for a debate on public procurement? When the EU directive on public procurement came through it seemed sensible that we should accept it wholeheartedly, but the effect it is having on a large number of smaller Irish businesses is huge. Can we take a balance into account when we automatically accept EU directives? There is a need to do something in this regard. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: The other person who died recently was Dr. John O'Connell who was not a Member of this House but of the Lower House, and of various political parties.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: Was he? I did not realise that. Up to recently, Dr. O'Connell was still coming in to Leinster House every Tuesday with the former Deputy, Ben Briscoe. As Dr. O'Connell was a former Member of this House, we will have a chance to talk about him at a later stage.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Retail Sector Report: Discussion with RGDATA (12 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the delegation to the committee. I was a member of RGDATA for many years and I am familiar with its work. I support entirely the point Ms Buckley makes. RGDATA's members are great supporters of Irish industry and business. They do it because it is good for business. The vast majority want to buy local products. They want to buy their own. I am also a great believer in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: At yesterday's meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation we had a very interesting debate on town centres. It was initiated by RGDATA, the body representing smaller independent shops. While the town centres of Ireland are being devastated in many cases, I do not believe it is up to the State to solve this - it is the sort of thing that needs to be solved...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I, too, congratulate Senator Norris. Senator Ó Murchú has worded my point very well. The election of Pope Francis represents a new beginning. We have heard words today from everybody and there is a sense of hope. This has been brought about by the demeanour and sympathetic manner of the new Pope. He showed this when he was elected yesterday. It gives us a chance of a new beginning....

Seanad: Finance Bill 2013 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (20 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister is very welcome. I was very taken by Senator Gilroy's words in respect of the young man and his four-year old daughter for whom he could buy clothes. His question was what will this do to help that situation. I appreciate the Minister has taken a number of steps to ensure that we move in that direction. I have been advocating for the release of some pension funds to allow...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: We saw in Cyprus this week what happens when a bailout puts a country's finances in the hands of the troika. We saw it also when we lost control some years ago. I mention this as once the troika turns a magnifying glass on a country which owes it money, it can identify areas in which it believes savings should be made. This is where water charges, property taxes and a number of other...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I have often spoken of my frustration at the length of time it takes to get something done through the Government and the State. Next May it will be three years since the introduction of the Construction Contracts Bill in this House, with Committee and Report Stages completed in this House in March 2011. There is frustration that this has not yet become law, although the good news is that I...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Mar 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I cannot let the opportunity pass to say a few words about Jimmy Walsh as well. I have been a Member of the House for 20 years so I am very experienced in terms of knowledge and I have always been impressed by his ability to be able to remember and jot down so succinctly exactly what was said, sometimes in a mumble and occasionally very loudly. One could meet him in the corridor afterwards...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Impact of Black Market on Small Businesses: Discussion (16 Apr 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I thank all of the delegates for coming today and enlightening us as much as they have. I have a friend in the United States with a large grocery store who was caught leaving the country with a suitcase full of money. Apparently, he operated 16 checkouts but only 15 of them were reported; the authorities did not know about the other one and he ended up with a sentence of four years in jail....

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Apr 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I add my voice to those who have called for cool heads and calmness in the spat between the Judiciary and the Government. There is a channel for discussion and we should allow that discussion to take place. We have enjoyed an independent Judiciary for 90 years and it has worked well for us. Let us make sure we do not do anything that loses it. I think it is in the Government's hands to do...