Results 21-40 of 228 for speaker:Déirdre de Búrca

Seanad: Food Safety: Statements (8 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and the opportunity to speak about the Government policy on food safety and health promotion. The point has been made already that the food sector is an important sector in the Irish economy. It is estimated that it directly employs approximately 300,000 people and that in 2006, the sectors of food retailing and tourism, respectively,...

Seanad: Government's Irish Aid Strategy: Statements (13 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his contribution. Few in this House would disagree that Ireland's development aid programme is among the best in the world. That is not to say, however, there is no room for improvement. Politicians have been able to resource the aid programme so well because of the strong support that exists among the public for it. Irish...

Seanad: Road Safety: Statements (Resumed) (14 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I echo the points made on road safety by other speakers. The statistics for 2006 give us real cause to be concerned. A total of 366 people were killed on Irish roads and, unfortunately, in the first ten months of this year 279 people were killed in road-related accidents. Other statistics are equally depressing. More than 166,000 people were...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: Following on from the issue raised by Senator White I ask that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government come into the House to address the decision by An Bord Pleanála yesterday to grant planning permission for a 600,000 tonne mass burn incinerator for Poolbeg in Dublin, despite the recommendation of its inspector for a 500,000 tonne incinerator. The decision is...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——the terms of reference he will give to that group and when it will report. I am confident the group will state clearly that the capacity for incineration planned for will mean we will become a net importer of waste from other countries. There is no way this small country——

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: We had very little support from either Fine Gael or the Labour Party, both of whom support incineration. They are speaking out of both sides of their mouths. On the one hand they are trying to——

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——distance themselves from this decision and, on the other, supporting the policy of incineration in their conferences and so on.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: The Minister is not afraid to say that mass burn incineration is not the way forward for this country.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I ask that the Minister appear before the House to clarify the matter of the waste review group he will carry out and indicate when it will report back.

Seanad: Cancer Services: Statements (20 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister for Health and Children to the House. I acknowledge this is the second time she has been to the House in the past few weeks to debate the important issue of the reform of our health services. The Minister began her speech by referring to the recent appalling misdiagnosis of a group of women with breast cancer. This has highlighted the shortcomings in our cancer care...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: Will the Leader invite the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to address the House on his Department's plans for the development of wind energy, especially offshore wind energy? The State is planning to spend at least €40 million next year on carbon credits which will allow it to exceed the greenhouse gas emissions limits agreed under the Kyoto Protocol. It is both...

Seanad: Seafood Industry: Statements (21 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and this opportunity to discuss the Cawley report. Other speakers have mentioned that we are a maritime nation and our fishing and seafood industry are very important. The Irish seafood industry generates more than €700 million per year and directly employs 11,665 people. The total catch in Irish waters, which are among the most productive in...

Seanad: Education Policy: Statements (22 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for coming again to participate in this debate on education. This is her second time in the House in the past two weeks and it is appreciated. Education is an important issue. As we are all aware, there have been many crises in the educational system of late due to the rapid population growth and the influx of people of different ethnic and...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I wish to respond briefly to comments made by the Opposition with regard to the health crisis. As a member of a Government party I welcome the Opposition's support for the cancer care strategy being implemented. Unfortunately, this is not always obvious in the behaviour or public utterances of the Opposition parties. The Minister's call for a bipartisan approach to reforming our health...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: The Opposition parties should cease to be political on this——

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——and try to work on the reform of the health services which is in all of our interests. Will the Leader invite to the House the Minister for Arts, Sports and Tourism to respond to the issues raised yesterday by the chief executive of Fáilte Ireland, Mr. Sean Quinn, at its annual conference? He expressed concern that the tourism industry may be attracting people to the island on false...

Seanad: Report on Seanad Reform: Motion (28 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the opportunity to address the motion, which is the first Private Members' motion tabled by me and my Green Party colleague, Senator Boyle. That we have tabled a motion on Seanad reform shows the importance we attach to the question. The issue was quite extensively debated during our first couple of sitting days in the House when Senators expressed their support for Seanad reform....

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I echo the call of the Fine Gael Senator for a debate in this House on the future of fire services in this country. The appalling tragedy that occurred in my constituency in Bray that resulted in the deaths of two fireman obviously has focused national attention on fire services. I know the Minister of State at the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Tony...

Seanad: Overseas Missions: Statements (Resumed) (29 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I wish to share my time with Senator Ormonde.

Seanad: Overseas Missions: Statements (Resumed) (29 Nov 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I am glad of the opportunity to discuss this EU mission to Chad. The mission has a UN mandate and is being conducted within the framework of the European Security and Defence Policy. UN Security Council resolution 1778, which established the mission, gives it a robust peace-enforcement mandate. We are a small country with a proud tradition...