Results 341-360 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Broadcasting (Funding) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 7d: In page 7, subsection (1), lines 23 and 24, to delete "The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance," and substitute "The Minister shall, no later than seven years after the enactment of this Act, or at any earlier time". The purpose of this amendment is to put a time limit on the life of the legislation. My reason for suggesting what I call this...

Seanad: Broadcasting (Funding) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (11 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: That may be the effect. However, because of the experimental nature of this legislation the Minister of the day would be obliged to come back to us about how it worked. That is a worthy consideration in such experimental legislation. It is better than not looking at it or reconsidering it again. I have a case to make and I would like the Minister to consider it, but I will not press the amendment.

Seanad: Broadcasting (Funding) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (13 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I thank the Minister, who has obviously responded not only very favourably but entirely in keeping with what I envisaged. I greatly appreciate the fact that he listened to the point I was making and thank Senator Henry for supporting me in that. The Minister has accepted that this is the correct thing to do. The Bill will be the better for it. I appreciate the Minister's listening to my...

Seanad: Broadcasting (Funding) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (13 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: May I congratulate the Minister not only on accepting the amendments, for which I am very grateful, but also on his grasp of this Bill? When I initially learned that areas like the marine, natural resources and communications were to be included in the Minister's remit, I felt that he was being burdened with such a wide range of matters that it would very difficult, if not impossible, for him...

Seanad: Order of Business. (24 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I add my voice to those who are concerned about the implications for bribe takers without it being recognised that to offer a bribe must, similarly, be a crime. I question the policy we appear to have adopted of handcuffing people. I understood that people who were charged before the courts were handcuffed if there was a danger of them escaping or running away. I was surprised to see a 79...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I support Senator Henry's concerns. I am not sure if the amendment is the correct one, but this issue appears to be a concern. We have established definite standards in Ireland over the years. One cannot build a hotel, for example, without certain stipulations. We passed legislation relating to opticians a couple of years ago. I am not sure what the answer is, but it appears Senator Henry's...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I do not support the amendment. I understand there is nothing to stop a claimant seeking legal advice. The Bill tries to avoid having another layer, with its implications for legal costs. If the outcome of the board's assessment is not satisfactory to the claimant, he or she can reject it and go back to the old way. If we set up the PIAB and then put legal representation back into the...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (24 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: There is nothing to stop a claimant having a solicitor to draw up paperwork for him. However, the communication will be directly with the claimant and not with the solicitor, in order to avoid the expensive fees that have added to costs in the past.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: Earlier on, the Cathaoirleach told Senator Leyden that Senator O'Toole could not reply to a point he made. While I do not often act as a mouthpiece for Senator O'Toole and will not attempt to do so now, I think what Senator O'Toole would have said to Senator Leyden would have been what we have just heard stated now on Senator Leyden's side of the House. There is absolutely nothing to stop a...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I second the amendment. Senator Henry explained the reason for the amendment. The objective of the Bill is to reduce the astronomically high cost of insurance and to ensure it is done legally and in a way which is acceptable to both sides. The PIAB probably will only accept the reports it regards as coming from legitimate sources. The danger is that the claimant may believe that he or she has...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: On Tuesday I asked the Leader to come back with an answer regarding the handcuffing of a 79 year old man guilty of a serious crime. Who makes the decision about when we should adopt the policy of handcuffing criminals? I understood it was traditionally the case that four groups of people were not visibly handcuffed, namely, children, old people, women and soldiers in uniform. If that policy...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I was struck, coming up to Christmas, with the number of fundraisers with open buckets on the streets of Dublin. I was reminded that the same fundraisers seem to operate with different charities. I am not sure what the position is in regard to our charity legislation. One wonders what proportion of a donation is received by the charity, given that fund raisers very often are paid on a...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Nov 2003)

Feargal Quinn: Non-party members.

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Dec 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the words of Romano Prodi, the President of the European Commission, yesterday as a wake-up call. His comment that any country which does not vote in favour of the new constitution should leave should serve as a reminder to us. Senators O'Meara and Ryan spoke about their concerns, with which I agree, but we can do something about them. We need to sell the benefits we have had from...

Seanad: Order of Business. - Sea Pollution (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (3 Dec 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I am delighted to hear credit being given to Senator Tuffy for this amendment. It is a reminder of how important it is that Bills going through this House are not rushed through, although on rare occasions, Report Stage is taken immediately after Committee Stage. I gather from what the Minister of State said that the Labour Party will approve this particular adjustment to its amendment. I...

Seanad: Order of Business. - Budget Statement: Motion. (3 Dec 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Tim O'Malley. Last year I looked at the budget as a schoolteacher would and I gave the Minister for Finance, Deputy McCreevy, a low honours mark, somewhere in the upper 60%. This year, I am not going to be a schoolteacher but a cook, examining the cake the Minister for Finance has baked in this budget. Last year,...

Seanad: Order of Business. - Budget Statement: Motion. (3 Dec 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I felt sorry for Deputy Richard Bruton, who had to criticise it, because there was no meat and nothing tasty in it to have a real go. My main criticism is in the division of the cake. Did the Minister for Finance divide it fairly and equally? I agree with Senator Ryan on this issue. In the Book of Estimates two weeks ago we saw too many examples of financial nit-picking where cutbacks and the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Dec 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I agree with Senator Brian Hayes that it would be a shame if we lost the opportunity to debate that report promptly. It is almost 30 years since the Dublin and Monaghan bombings took place. Many of us remember that day so well. Those who have sought the report need that debate immediately rather than it being put on the long finger. I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for Health and...

Seanad: Report on Dublin and Monaghan Bombings: Motion. - Defamation: Statements. (10 Dec 2003)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share my time with Senator Norris.

Seanad: Report on Dublin and Monaghan Bombings: Motion. - Defamation: Statements. (10 Dec 2003)

Feargal Quinn: This has been an interesting debate. We do not often have debates in which Lincoln and Jefferson as well as Dr. Con Lucey of Cork are quoted. This is a topic about which I do not know a great deal, although I have been involved in one incident in which, when being quoted in The Irish News in Belfast in 1968, I was referred to as a well known IRA man. I was very upset that I had been mistaken...