Results 3,041-3,060 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Economic Competitiveness: Motion (22 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Fianna Fáil is very good when it has someone to keep an eye on it, as it had in 1992, 1994 and the current period. I would hate to see the party on its own. It goes in the direction it is driven.

Seanad: Economic Competitiveness: Motion (22 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: We had a good economy in 1997, with a budget surplus, high growth and low inflation.

Seanad: Economic Competitiveness: Motion (22 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: It was clear the country had under-invested in transport infrastructure during the crises of the 1980s, yet it will be 2010 before decent roads are provided between Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway. That will be 13 years after this Government came to power.

Seanad: Economic Competitiveness: Motion (22 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: We will not have a decent road between Cork and Limerick before 2010.There is no mention of it in the Government's plans.

Seanad: Economic Competitiveness: Motion (22 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: The American Chamber of Commerce Ireland is not a body one would expect me to quote. It stated that the Government is under-investing in transport infrastructure. A report today states that we pay more to buy land on which to build roads than any other country in Europe. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Parlon, always smiles when I raise this matter. He knows...

Seanad: Economic Competitiveness: Motion (22 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: In the country with the lowest population density in Europe, it costs more to acquire land than in the country with the highest population density in Europe. The point is adequately made that we have failed to use prosperity to build the transport infrastructure we need. The most disturbing quote I have seen in years is in the report of the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. It states...

Seanad: Economic Competitiveness: Motion (22 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I will conclude when I can complete a sentence. US investment is critical to this country. It is an illusion that our rate of corporation tax, 12.5%, will keep companies in this country if people get stuck in traffic jams as soon as they leave the airports. The Government's infrastructure plan does not include what the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland considers critical, namely, good...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I do not think Senator Brian Hayes was being in the least bit parochial when he mentioned yesterday's traffic problems. Fortunately, I did not have to use a car yesterday. The issue is not what happened in Dublin; rather, it is the perception senior public administrators have about their responsibilities to the public. They do not have to think through the consequences of their decisions....

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: That is absolute nonsense. It is more a reflection on the Senator's ethics than it is on the issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: There is no point in having the debate without the Department of Finance.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Tá sé maith dúinn é a fhágáil faoi mhuintir na Gaeltachta conas mar a theastaíonn uathu ainmneacha a oireann dóibh a chur ar chomharthaí bóithre. Bhí feachtas mór gníomhach éifeachtach 25 bliain ó shin le nach mbeadh comharthaí bóithre sna Gaeltachtaí ach amháin i dteanga an phobail. It would be grossly offensive to give English names to certain townlands in the Gaeltacht....

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: How did he announce it before it was announced?

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: As he is not here, we should not say too much.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: They all go to the Dáil.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I agree with Senator O'Toole on the first matter. If mandatory sentencing legislation appears before the Supreme Court, I would not forecast a positive outcome for the deliberations of the Oireachtas. This morning, I heard a wonderful phrase, namely, the paralysis of handcuffed mediocrity. I thought about the Government's inability to meet its commitment regarding buses in Dublin because of...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I would love for the Tánaiste to attend the House to answer the questions of who is paralysed, who is handcuffed and who is mediocre because I have a clear opinion on all three.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Yesterday, the European Parliament published a report on rendition to which the Government gave its usual response, which did not address the report. No one on this side of the House or in the country alleged that there were prisoners in the CIA planes that landed here because there is no evidence to that effect. We do not make allegations for which we have no evidence. The Government,...