Results 361-380 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2008)

Alex White: Senator Fitzgerald raised the retirement of the Reverend Ian Paisley, about much has been written and spoken in the past 12 hours or so. It is appropriate that the House should congratulate Dr. Paisley on his retirement and note the incredible achievements in the North for which he and others have been responsible in recent years. On a personal level, the House should wish him well in his...

Seanad: Passports Bill 2007: Second Stage (5 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I wish to share time with Senator Mullen. We will each have five minutes.

Seanad: Passports Bill 2007: Second Stage (5 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I welcome the introduction of the Passports Bill in this House. We are conscious that it has been the subject of debate in the other House and, as the Minister of State fairly acknowledged in his speech, a number of amendments tabled in that House were accepted in the course of the debate. That is a good thing. The principal point the Minister of State made, with which we all agree, is that...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Alex White: On a day when several Ministers are attending a conference on practical transport initiatives to tackle climate change, it is extraordinary that not one of the flagship transport projects referred to by Senators O'Toole and Fitzgerald will be delivered on time. During the debates in the House on the economy and public infrastructure, we must sit through Ministers listing off initiatives and...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Alex White: ——and all the fantastic achievements he loves to detail to us, how can it be that not one of these flagship projects will be delivered on time? The massive economic and social impact these delays will have must be faced up to. It is a matter for the Government, as Senators O'Toole and Fitzgerald stated earlier. The constant attempt to off-load responsibility to other agencies, notably...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Alex White: All projects.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Alex White: Yes.

Seanad: Protection of Employees (Agency Workers) (No. 2) Bill 2008: First Stage (6 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled the Protection of Employees (Agency Workers)(No. 2) Bill 2008.

Seanad: Protection of Employees (Agency Workers) (No. 2) Bill 2008: First Stage (6 Mar 2008)

Alex White: Next Tuesday. Second Stage ordered for Tuesday, 11 March 2008.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I, and I believe others, share the concerns expressed about how Cathal Ó Searcaigh has been treated by some sections of the media in recent weeks. I agree with remarks made in this House last week that an extraordinary suggestion appeared to have been made that his poetry should be taken off the leaving certificate syllabus. I disagree with that. It is not appropriate for this House to...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: It is not appropriate that a committee of the Oireachtas should take on itself the role of deciding whether a programme should be broadcast. If there are concerns about illegality——

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I am sorry but I did not interrupt anybody. I have great sympathy with the position Senator Norris has taken in regard to this case but it is not appropriate that this House or a committee of the Oireachtas should determine what RTE broadcasts. That would be a step too far. We have had debates on integration and the Minister of State came to the House for an interesting preliminary debate...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: It pointed out that newcomer students get two hours of English lessons per week. Senator Keaveney might respond to that.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: She was getting very exercised.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: Notwithstanding that they get two hours of English lessons per week, they must spend the rest of the day struggling to understand what teachers are saying in science class and elsewhere. This statement came from teachers involved in schools and who know what they are talking about. It is entirely inadequate that the teachers who provide these lessons get only one day's training. We do not...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I would like to add my voice and that of the Labour Party to the tributes that have been paid to the former Senator and Deputy Kit Ahern. I was struck by a point made by Senator Harris, with which I strongly agree, that there is a tendency in our public debate and discourse to almost to write off people at a relatively young age or increasingly at a younger age. In particular in political...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I understand the argument made by Senator Norris in respect of this provision. On this occasion, as on the last, I respectfully must disagree with him. As I indicated when this was discussed on Committee Stage, the widest possible latitude must be given to the media in respect of the publication of opinion consistent with fundamental principles, such as the right of a plaintiff or a citizen...