Results 3,481-3,500 of 4,717 for speaker:Martin Mansergh

European Parliament (Irish Constituency Members) Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages. (2 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I thank Members for their co-operation in facilitating the passage of the legislation through the Oireachtas.

Written Answers — Departmental Property: Departmental Property (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I propose to take Questions Nos. 159 and 160 together. There are only two buildings at Northside Civic Centre, the Civic Centre proper and a smaller building which was purposely designed as a crèche. The Civic Centre building is occupied by the following organisations:- Department of Social and Family Affairs, Health Service Executive, FÁS, The Media Co-op, Citizens Information Centre,...

Written Answers — Departmental Funding: Departmental Funding (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: The Office of Public Works has no responsibility for the maintenance of the River Deal or the access road in the area concerned. However, the Office of Public Works has had various meetings and discussions with Mayo Co. Council and is prepared to make a "once off" financial contribution in this case on hardship grounds due to the age and circumstances of the applicants. Mayo Co. Council...

Written Answers — Architectural Heritage: Architectural Heritage (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: The Office of Public Works is addressing the matter of signage advertising the opening times of Quin Abbey. Arrangements are being made to provide access to the car park during opening times of the Abbey.

Written Answers — National Monuments: National Monuments (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: The Office of Public Works is responsible for the day to day operational management of some 750 National Monuments in the ownership or guardianship of the State. The following lists these National Monuments in County Kildare. Monument Townland Status Access Status Round Tower Taghadoe Ownership Total access High Crosses, Round Tower Old Kilcullen Ownership Total access Round Tower,...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: It is a great pleasure to burn the midnight oil with the Members of Seanad Éireann. We are all aware of the unprecedented difficulties we face in this period of serious economic distress and the urgent need to stabilise our public finances. We have had to take exceptional measures to respond to the challenges we face and many of the decisions the Government has been forced to take have...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I do not have advisers.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: It is a great tribute to Members of the House that they have been prepared to debate this important Bill for the best part of an hour and three quarters. I join in thanking officers of the House for staying up and listening to us. Many points have been raised and I would like to reply to them. I will start with the last point made by Senator Healy Eames so she can go to bed.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: The matter she mentioned will be addressed by regulation and a regulation to that effect will be submitted to Government shortly. The halving of the salary of members of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission does not require legislation. I thank everyone who spoke for their constructive and thoughtful contributions. The background to the legislation is the very difficult economic...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: One can be proud irrespective of recompense. Most politicians spend more money on their work than they receive in this respect and this point has often been made in this debate. This is absolutely true, but does it follow from this that the State should fund whatever we wish to spend individually on politics, our campaigns, services for constituents and so on? If we wish to set up three,...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I am not saying anyone is arguing for such a measure but there must be economy in the running of politics and this applies individually and collectively. Senator Hanafin mentioned figures that were quite high, according to my experience, but perhaps he was elected by a more comfortable margin than I ever achieved. The figure of €30,000 was mentioned for a Seanad campaign but in 2002 I did...

Seanad: Media Studies in Education (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: At this time of the evening I find it hard to resist the temptation to go a little off script. My last article in The Irish Times in June 2006 was devoted to considering Pontius Pilate's question "What is truth?" and whether relativism was truth or whether there was any such thing as absolute truth. I also commented on the paradox of politicians in promoting objectivity when much of our...

Seanad: School Accommodation (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe. I thank the Senator for raising this matter as it provides me with the opportunity to outline to the Seanad the position on an application to the Department of Education and Science from the school for large-scale capital funding. This school has applied to the...

Seanad: Pharmacy Regulations (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. If there ever were a hospital pass at 2.25 a.m., this is it.

Seanad: Pharmacy Regulations (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome this opportunity, or not as the case may be, to outline to the House the background to the decisions taken by the Minister for Health and Children under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2009 to tackle the rapid growth in the cost of distributing and dispensing drugs under the medical card and community drug schemes. The cost of these schemes has doubled...

Seanad: Pharmacy Regulations (7 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I thank the Senators for their interventions. Three main points have been made. On a personal basis I have much sympathy with the pharmacists. I have friends in the pharmaceutical profession. I say to Senator Buttimer that economic survival is about people too. That is what is fundamentally involved, not just in terms of this measure but for the many other measures introduced by the...

Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009: Second Stage (8 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I wish to share five minutes of my time with Deputy Mary O'Rourke.

Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009: Second Stage (8 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: I am very glad that Ireland and the Irish people have been given the opportunity to revisit their decision on the EU Lisbon treaty. I welcome the clear statement of principle to be put into the Constitution which prefaces the more technical legal provisions and which states: "Ireland affirms its commitment to the European Union within which the member states of that Union work together to...

Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009: Second Stage (8 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: It is never an affront to the Irish people to solicit their opinion on a constitutional matter. As I have stated on previous occasions, treaty ratification where unanimity is required is implicitly a two-stage process. In the first stage, every member state's opinion is canvassed and nobody has a veto on others deciding what is their position. As provided in the Lisbon treaty when it comes...

Written Answers — Heritage Sites: Heritage Sites (8 Jul 2009)

Martin Mansergh: All the operations, including opening hours and staffing levels, were reviewed in the light of budgetary considerations for 2009. As a result, opening dates at many centres were brought back to Easter, and closing dates rescheduled at the shoulder of the season. Staffing numbers were rationalised, where possible. It should be pointed out that in 2008, St. Patrick's Day and the Easter Bank...