Results 281-300 of 1,714 for speaker:John Dardis

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The debate was last night.

Seanad: Election Expenses: Motion. (18 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: I agree with much that Senator Ryan had to say but he made some conjunctions which he was not entitled to make or which required a leap of imagination on his part. At this stage everybody on all sides of both House recognises the need for electoral Acts, the Ethics in Public Office Act, that there must be regulation and that we need to know where money comes from and how it is spent. We also...

Seanad: Election Expenses: Motion. (18 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The commission kindly wrote to me to advise me about the assigned money. I have not heard from it since, which means that was perhaps the final item of correspondence. I would go much of the way towards agreeing with Senator Ross. What is required is full disclosure of everything contributed. The imposition of an upper limit is problematic, especially for the larger parties which have a...

Seanad: Election Expenses: Motion. (18 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The Minister raised several questions in his contribution. I am glad that there is to be a review of legislation. Questions were also asked about the donation disclosure limits and I have dealt with the matter. It is reasonable as a minimum that spending limits on elections reflect inflation. They should not be left at a certain level over a number of years and the legislation should address...

Seanad: Election Expenses: Motion. (18 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: It is not right to say that everybody gets their money from large businesses. I accept Senator Ryan's point that all business acts in its own interest purely and simply. Philanthropy does not come into it.

Seanad: Election Expenses: Motion. (18 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: I saw some lovely Fine Gael newspapers.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The Acting Chairman will presently rule me out of order for a totally irrelevant comment, but it is relevant. Perhaps she will recall that, in a previous incarnation on the Opposition benches, I mounted a sustained onslaught on the "in relation to" disease. There is a refreshing absence of "in relation to" in this Bill. I often wonder why the small prepositions cannot be used instead. I have...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: I am in broad agreement with what is in the legislation. First, it relates to a conviction and second, it specifies the sections in which this may apply – sections 4, 7 and 17. The only place where the sanction may be questionable is section 15, which amends the 1988 Act and states that the holder of a licence shall not allow a person under the age of 21 years to be in a bar if the person...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: It could fall on Good Friday.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The intention behind the Bill is laudable and I do not think anyone would dispute it. It is undesirable for young people to be exploited or be unduly exposed to the drinks trade at an impressionable age. I take the point the Minister has made, which is an important one. In any business, irrespective of whether it is the licensed trade or otherwise, it is important for young people to come...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: —and a young man, whom I suspect was 15 or 16 years old, cleaned the place, set the fire and did all the work that many people might not be inclined to do. He served me a cup of coffee and was extremely courteous. It would be wrong, notwithstanding Senator McDowell's laudable intentions, if that type of introduction to the trade were to be lost, which could be the effect of such an amendment.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: This is relevant to the discussion we had on section 10 in regard to special exemption orders and closing hours. Again, thinking about rural Ireland, it struck me that the argument as to whether closing time should be 10.30 p.m. or 11.30 p.m. was somewhat academic, particularly at weekends. If one holidays in the west of Ireland, on the route from Dublin to, say Newport, County Mayo, there is...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The Senator is misrepresenting me.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The Minister is to be commended for introducing this amendment. I agree that it would be unnecessarily complicated and burdensome to make distinctions among the various age groups. However, I am still concerned about the issue of hotels. The Minister made a distinction yesterday between a bar and eating area and said that if children were in an eating area it was a different matter.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (19 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: No.

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion. (24 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Arts Bill 2002: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire inniu. I commend the Minister on the Bill. It is a considerable improvement on the Bill that was originally published. Those improvements are to be welcomed. In a debate such as this, we are confronted with the great philosophical questions of our time such as, what is art? The Bill attempts to answer that question in its definition, which brings to mind the...

Seanad: Arts Bill 2002: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: We showed that we could compete with the best in the world and not just in terms of our music. The displays from Riverdance and Macnas were stunning and showed the vibrancy of the arts here. Only 20 or 30 years ago it would have been difficult to envisage us putting on a show of that quality. I am not referring to the visual effects, which have to do with technology, but the actual content of...

Seanad: Arts Bill 2002: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: The Senator's comments are quite ridiculous.

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jun 2003)

John Dardis: I join in the request to the Leader for a debate at the earliest possible opportunity on the outcome of the CAP reform talks which took place this week. In doing so, we should congratulate the Minister for Agriculture and Food on ensuring the future of the Common Agricultural Policy is secure, in particular, on securing an increase in the amount of butter available to intervention, protecting...