Results 2,861-2,880 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: People have been crying out for it for three years and I received nothing but praise for introducing it, but in recent weeks I have been asked about what has happened to it. People are suffering and going out of business because the Act has not been implemented. I read an interesting article during the week by a former adviser to Mr. Tony Blair. He believed that the National Health Service,...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that No. 13 be taken before No. 1 today. I urge the Leader to accept this proposal. During the week the Central Bank warned customers that there was no regulation in Ireland or elsewhere in Europe of crowd funding. Crowd funding is a wonderful idea and those involved are happy to see regulations, but there is no urgency because the small...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Reform) Bill 2014: First Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I move: That leave the granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to reform the regulation of the health insurance sector and for that purpose to vest responsibility for the management of the State’s ownership of VHI in the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform; to provide for the regularisation of VHI's regulatory status; to dissolve the Health Insurance Authority and to confer...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Reform) Bill 2014: First Stage (19 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Catherine McGuinness (19 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: Judge McGuinness is very welcome, and particularly so because of the words that she used today and the opportunity that she has given us to speak about this topic. It gave me the opportunity to look through - I would not say study - the Report Card of the Children's Rights Alliance. I congratulate Senator Jillian van Turnhout and Tanya Ward on the work done. I have been in this House for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Growth and Job Creation in Town and Village Centres: (Resumed) Chambers Ireland and RGDATA (24 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I thank the speakers. They were very interesting and covered a wide range of issues. They did not touch on upward only rent reviews. I know that 13 trade associations got together recently to call on the Government to pass that legislation which has already gone through the Seanad. What is the witnesses’ view of it? Do they support the move to abolish it? I have a problem with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Business Growth and Job Creation in Town and Village Centres: (Resumed) Chambers Ireland and RGDATA (24 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I congratulate the delegation on their stories, it reminded me so much of myself, 50 years ago, going into Dundalk. Some of the problems are the same but some are new. Perhaps the delegation can tell us things that we can do. Perhaps it would outline the position on parking levies, as I am not up to date on them, and on Joint Labour Committee, JLC, wage structures. I had understood this...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: My attention was drawn to the fact that rates on sporting clubs do not take into account that a very large amount of sporting clubs' space is not used as it has been rated. One particular club contacted me. Its bar only opens for two days or two and a half days at the most, but the club's rates are based on the total premises, including changing rooms and other facilities. We should have a...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (25 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I, too, welcome Elaine, Marion and Angela to the House. I regard today as a celebration of Sam McAughtry's life. I was a Senator at the same time as Sam and I remember well the first time I met him. Looking at a photograph of Sam published in a newspaper the other day, his smile stands out. He had a great, big smile which seemed to be there all the time. I got to know him very well and I...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Reform) Bill 2014: Second Stage (25 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I welcome the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, to the House. We are getting to know him here as he comes in on a regular basis. I hope he will welcome the Bill. I produced this Bill to address concerns which I have had for some time about certain aspects of the health insurance sector in Ireland. There are features within the...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Reform) Bill 2014: Second Stage (25 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I appreciate the Minister's presence, the effort he made and his consideration. However, I do not appreciate some of what he said. In his speech he indicated that he had urged all the private health insurers to do everything possible to keep down the cost of private health insurance. To me, that sounds a little like the Minister for transport saying 20 years ago that he had urged all the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: The words of the Irish Kidney Association bring to mind the problem of kidney transplants and the real difficulty we have south of the Border. Apparently, north of the Border, Belfast City Hospital has solved this problem and could help us out. To what extent, are we availing of this opportunity to ensure kidney transplants take place? There is a long waiting list in the South but...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2014: Second Stage (26 Jun 2014)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister is very welcome. This is a very interesting Bill. I found it very interesting to hear the Minister's words about An Post, which seems to have taken more attention than anything else among the speakers here. I was involved in An Post for the first ten years of its life and like everybody else I have a good feeling about it. However, I want to ensure we are getting good...

Seanad: Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (1 Jul 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I appreciate the Minister's attention to this issue and the amount of work she has put into it. Well done to her and I wish her every success. Senator Bradford's comment on the need to have a senior Cabinet Minister with responsibility for housing makes a great deal of sense. Senator Healy Eames supported that as well. There has been much talk about using National Asset Management Agency,...

Seanad: Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Second Stage (1 Jul 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister. It is good to see him again. To have a cousin in the Cabinet gives me a certain amount of confidence, although I do not necessarily get to use it on that basis. Last week, my 22-year-old granddaughter graduated from Shanghai University and last Thursday, she spoke to the 600 graduates at her masters ceremony. I am rather pleased that Irish and European students -...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Business Growth and Job Creation in Town and Village Centres: (Resumed) ISME and New Generation Development (1 Jul 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome Mr. Fielding. We know about the problems as we have heard about them before. It is interesting to hear his expression of confidence and belief that it is possible to get somewhere. Having confidence is so important. I have said before that there is far too much acceptance of the belief the Government, the council and somebody else should be doing something. I was in a...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Jul 2014)

Feargal Quinn: Yesterday Bewley's lost its case in the Supreme Court in an appeal taken by the landlord regarding upward-only rent reviews. I will give an idea of the figures spoken about yesterday. The rent had been €728,000 but has now been increased to €1.46 million until 2017. The House has passed the Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013, but it has not been passed by the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Feargal Quinn: Often, when I am a buying a newspaper, I say to the vendor, "Give me one with only good news in it". It is interesting that newspapers over the past few days have much good economic news in them. We should be careful to ensure we continue with the vigour and energy of recent times to create good news on the creation of extra jobs, the return of investor confidence and improved sales. I am...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister to the House and the opportunity to discuss this Bill. The provision it contains for the rationalisation of two quangos which seem to be doing more or less the same job is particularly welcome. However, I have serious reservations that the Bill leaves the door open for the Minister to impose a huge number of potential legal regulations on the grocery sector, something...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Action Plan for Job Creation and Innovation: Startup Ireland (8 Jul 2014)

Feargal Quinn: I apologise, but I must run away again, having been tied up. Something else has cropped up. It is one of those days when three or four things are happening at once. I congratulate the witnesses from Startup Ireland. I have had two experiences: the leaving certificate applied and the transition year programme. We can learn significantly from that and we can instill enthusiasm in that age...