Results 2,401-2,420 of 3,523 for speaker:Lucinda Creighton

Europe Week: Statements (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I am tempted to respond to the points made by various Deputies, but I have points of my own that I wish to make. I am a little bemused by Deputy Shane Ross's sudden shift in political philosophy. I recall a time when he and his colleagues in the well known Sunday publication for which he writes repeatedly called for greater fiscal restraint and the previous Government to reduce excessive...

Europe Week: Statements (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: No. The Deputy wants to have his cake and eat it. He wants to be populist and get headlines by condemning all efforts made by the Government to cut and reduce public spending, but at the same time he wants to claim that he is favour of fiscal rectitude. That does not make sense and is incoherent.

Europe Week: Statements (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I suppose this is not the Deputy's first time to do so.

Europe Week: Statements (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I accept that there is a genuine crisis of confidence in the European Union. This is an inevitable consequence of the financial, economic, banking and debt crisis we have faced in recent years. However, I disagree with Deputy Shane Ross on the current position. Some very difficult decisions have been taken, but perhaps they are not ones we all like. There are more steps to be taken and,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement: Discussion with Minister of State (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: It is a pleasure to have this opportunity to address the joint committee, given that it is Europe Week. I am very honoured to have been invited to discuss enlargement policy and the European neighbourhood policy. As members are aware, this is vast when one considers all the countries involved and the very heavy EU workload. I will try to be concise, while touching on all of the main...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement: Discussion with Minister of State (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: Deputy Smith asked about countries' candidate status and the likely period before accession. At this stage it is pretty certain that Croatia will join the EU on 1 July. There were some legacy issues that had to be resolved before the ratification could take place in the Slovenian Parliament. That has happened. I am pleased to say we were able to play a constructive role as Presidency in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement: Discussion with Minister of State (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: Let me start with Deputy Byrne. Some of the points were touched on by Senator Mullins. There is no simple solution to the BiH situation. While I take on board the viewpoint that the EU has not done enough to support it, one could equally argue that BiH has not done enough to help itself down the path. Even among its community in Ireland, there is a sense of grievance about other countries...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement: Discussion with Minister of State (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I apologise. What was the question?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: European Neighbourhood Policy and Enlargement: Discussion with Minister of State (8 May 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: There is a lot in that. In terms of Nagorno-Karabakh and the ongoing so-called frozen conflict, from the point of view of the OSCE Ireland was very involved. It is a very delicate and difficult situation, and one to which the OSCE probably has the greatest contribution to make. There is a rich energy supply from many countries in the region. It is in the interests of the EU to foster...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I have to say that I never imagined when I stood for election to the Dáil for the second time in 2011 that I would find myself here two years later speaking on a Government sponsored Bill to liberalise abortion law in Ireland. I am in no doubt by now that this legislation will pass, notwithstanding the many reservations expressed both privately and publicly by colleagues from all...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: We also celebrate the right of human beings to enjoy life, whether we speak of a criminal on death row, an innocent baby girl or a baby with Down's syndrome. None of us is perfect but our life is worthy and we are all worthy of life. Who is any one of us to determine that one single life is not worth living or protecting? I did not stand for elected office to pursue a pro-life agenda and...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: Who or what else can I consult - the latest opinion poll, the party hierarchy or the editor of the most popular newspaper? I mentioned groupthink, which is a corrosive affliction in this country. We saw it in the Haughey era, we saw it during the Celtic tiger era and we see it on this question of abortion. It is easy to understand why people in positions of responsibility want thorny...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I appreciate that. It is impossible to justify a situation whereby the unborn, a constitutional person, would be prohibited from being represented in front of a panel when grown adults, also constitutional persons, are entitled to such representation in front of similar panels where decisions have a profound impact on their rights, for example, in front of mental health tribunals under the...

European Council in Brussels: Statements (2 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I will not respond to Deputy Boyd Barrett because it will be a Topical Issue today and I understand the Minister of State, Deputy Costello, will deal with it. I would like to talk about the Irish Presidency and the six months since 1 January, during which we have presided over the Council of the European Union. I do not think it is self-praise or somehow exaggerating to say it was a good...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: Amendments Nos. 58 and 78 are in my name, although I am happy to support the spirit of a range of other amendments tabled by colleagues which deal with the suicide clause in this abortion legislation. I want to start by saying I very much respect the Members on the Opposition benches who have been at least very honest in terms of what they aspire to achieve in an abortion regime in this...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: My final point continues this very important underlying thread. We have all been repeatedly told that we must include the suicide clause, against all of the medical evidence, in order to satisfy the X case test. However, this legislation ignores a very recent Supreme Court case and indeed a range of developments in that court in recent times. I draw Members' attention to the case of Cosma...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I am deeply concerned about it and I appeal, as I have done a multitude of times, to the Minister for Health to listen to the evidence put forward by medical experts and the psychiatrists the Minister is asking to administer the flawed section. They say they cannot do it. Please let us listen to them and please let us not enshrine flawed logic and flawed legislation on our Statute Book....

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: Hear, hear.

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (10 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: It is not possible to respond to all of the points made, but the issues arising are important in the framing of this legislation. The idea that we cannot question or find shortcomings in a Supreme Court judgment is clearly wrong. I respect the legal brain of my good friend, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Alan Shatter. He has extensive experience of analysing judgments, but...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Report Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2013)

Lucinda Creighton: I move amendment No. 22:In page 7, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following:“ “viable”, in relation to a pregnancy, means a foetus or embryo that is, or would be expected to be, capable of surviving independently outside the womb by reason of its gestational age;”.I would like to speak to amendments No. 22 and 85. They would make it an offence for an...