Results 4,341-4,360 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Children's Mental Health Services: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Paudie Coffey: We are getting to the nuts and bolts of it.

Seanad: Rugby World Cup 2023 Bill 2017: Second Stage (11 Jul 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I too welcome the Minister to the House, to which he is no stranger. He was a Member here for many years. I have no doubt that most Members in this House and in the Lower House support this international bid. I need not reiterate that this is a huge opportunity but I believe it is important to do so. It could place the island of Ireland, North and South, in the international shop window...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second and Subsequent Stages (13 Jul 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I did not intend to start on a negative note but I was disappointed, although not surprised, with the negative contribution of Sinn Féin with regard to rural Ireland. Having listened to Sinn Féin contributors over many years I thought they had a deep interest in rural affairs and they would welcome a specific Department with responsibilities in that regard, headed up by a Minister...

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second and Subsequent Stages (13 Jul 2017)

Paudie Coffey: It is a fact. Sinn Féin does not have a clue when it comes to rural affairs.

Seanad: Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second and Subsequent Stages (13 Jul 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Ring, to the House and I congratulate him on his appointment. I wish him and his officials well in the new Department, the establishment of which signals that Government is treating rural affairs as a top priority. There is no better man that the Minister, Deputy Ring, to lead this Department. He is passionate about, committed to and believes in rural...

Seanad: Mid-Term Review of Capital Plan: Statements (27 Sep 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome this timely debate on the national capital expenditure plan. We need to debate the issue in the context of where the country is at and from where it has come in recent years. We must acknowledge that there were serious reductions in capital expenditure and infrastructural investment owing to the state of the economy from 2007 until recently. However, I must give the last...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (28 Sep 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister and his officials to the House for this important debate. I wish to make a point of order for the record. There were a number of false starts to this afternoon's debate. I know the Minister was tied up in the Dáil, but it would be helpful if the Opposition would provide a pairing for the Minister who is due to take debates in the Seanad and allow us to get on...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (28 Sep 2017)

Paudie Coffey: We are all agreed that we need to find urgent solutions to the housing challenge that we face but they need to be sustainable. I listened with interest to Senator McDowell's contribution which was Dublin centric. There are many housing issues right around the country, but they are most concentrated in the largest urban area. I have often compared Dublin to an economic vortex where a great...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (28 Sep 2017)

Paudie Coffey: That was a Fine Gael idea - Shanganagh.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (28 Sep 2017)

Paudie Coffey: It is the same old story with them.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (28 Sep 2017)

Paudie Coffey: Dé Máirt.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness: Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government (Resumed) (28 Sep 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister and commend him on all his efforts in resolving homelessness and the housing challenge in general. I welcome the fact the Minister is establishing an inter-agency group to look at homelessness, because we need more coherence in the sector. Does he have detailed levels of funding that are being provided to local authorities, approved housing bodies and the various...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Draft General Scheme of the Building Control (Construction Industry Register Ireland) Bill 2017 (4 Oct 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome all three delegations to the committee on this important topic, especially as we embark again on an ambitious building programme. I support CIRI because it is a registration process designed to promote a culture of competence, good practice and compliance. That, in combination with BCAR, can certainly enhance consumer protection with regards to the construction industry. Having...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Pre-Legislative Scrutiny of the Draft General Scheme of the Building Control (Construction Industry Register Ireland) Bill 2017 (4 Oct 2017)

Paudie Coffey: In the past five years, how many people have been removed from the register?

Seanad: Eighth Report of Convention on the Constitution: Motion (11 Oct 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I move:That Seanad Éireann agrees that the Eighth Report of the Convention on the Constitution, copies of which were laid before Seanad Éireann on 30th March, 2014, including its recommendations in relation to the right to housing, be referred to the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach in accordance with Standing Order 71(3)(k), to consider the...

Seanad: Eighth Report of Convention on the Constitution: Motion (11 Oct 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister of State. I am pleased to have an opportunity to speak on the eighth report of the Constitutional Convention. I note and acknowledge the contributions of colleagues in this House. I look forward to listening to more contributions. I also acknowledge the contributions of citizens and colleagues who participated in the convention under the chairmanship of Mr. Tom...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister and wish him well in bringing this Bill through the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is important that Senators are allowed the time and space to express any concerns they might have about landmark public health legislation. I commend the Government on bringing it forward. As legislators, we are entitled to raise concerns and seek clarifications and I make no apology to...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paudie Coffey: On lobbying, the impression is being created that lobbying is happening on only one side. I have been lobbied by those in favour of the Bill as currently drafted and also locally by shopkeepers and others who are genuinely concerned about the impact this legislation may have on them. I am not confused. I am taking an objective, informed view of the Bill and I am expressing views that I...

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paudie Coffey: What about Fianna Fáil's 2009 legislation on structural separation? It wanted to build a wall.

Seanad: Public Health (Alcohol) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2017)

Paudie Coffey: It wanted to build a wall like Trump.