Results 381-400 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (resumed) (11 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: Like the Dublin Docklands Development Authority.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: As I said on Second Stage, I sympathise with Senator Ellis and the people of Leitrim. In the Irish psyche there is a huge affinity with county boundaries. People in a county who do not have a public representative from within the county to represent them at a forum consider themselves at a disadvantage and disenfranchised. If any other county did not have a public representative in the...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: Section 5 states: A constituency specified in the Schedule shall return the number of members set out in respect thereof in the third column of that Schedule. There has been much debate about constituency boundaries but we are familiar with the buzz words 'balanced regional development' in the national spatial strategy and other reports planning Ireland's progress. The emphasis in other EU...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: It is important to debate all these issues, because we are certainly getting views from different representatives. I do not agree with everything Senator Hannigan has said, and I suspect he represents essentially a largely urban area. It is quite logical to understand that in places like Dublin and large urban centres, there are huge population densities, which is stated in the commission's...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: He sounds like one.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: The Senator's party is nearly on top now.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: I add to what Senator Ellis said and speak to the Bill in general. I do not doubt the independence of the commission as it is recommended in the Bill. My party takes the view that each individual on the commission is totally independent and is entitled to be on the commission. A section of the Bill refers to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, and the staff who will assist the commission...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: Section 15 is very topical with the local elections coming up in June. There are regulations set down here which we will not oppose. They are recommended and Fine Gael will support them. If an individual wants to offer his or her candidature for local elections, it should be encouraged by all political parties. The elected representative reflects society and the public which he or she...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: One knows how many one has.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: On a point of order, we held a useful debate on this Bill, but the way in which it was guillotined through the House is an affront to democracy. This is a parliamentary democracy and Senators were on their feet when this Bill was guillotined from Committee Stage to its finish. It is a shame that the Government is practising democracy in this way. This is about the fundamentals of democracy...

Seanad: National Insulation Programme: Motion (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: I second the amendment and I reserve the right to speak later.

Seanad: National Insulation Programme: Motion (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and am pleased to have the opportunity to debate this motion. I understand to a degree Senator O'Toole's frustration because he was a Member of the House a long time before me. However, he is not the first to advocate programmes such as this. Many years ago I heard people advocating the need for better insulation in our homes, attics and so on....

Seanad: National Insulation Programme: Motion (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: It is a publicity stunt.

Seanad: National Insulation Programme: Motion (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: It is too little, too late.

Seanad: National Insulation Programme: Motion (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: The Senator has not listened to the full debate.

Seanad: National Insulation Programme: Motion (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: Senator O'Malley is covering up for 20 years of mistakes.

Seanad: National Insulation Programme: Motion (18 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: A certificate is required before one gets the grant.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: We have seen serious unrest in society recently, which is worrying. People are very angry about what is happening in the economy, especially with the loss of jobs, the financial pressures on families and the loss of front-line services that my colleague, Senator Fitzgerald, has spoken about, especially in areas such as education and health. I am also concerned by the evidence that people are...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: There the Senator goes again.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (25 Feb 2009)

Paudie Coffey: It is okay to do that.