Results 561-580 of 3,550 for speaker:Dominic Hannigan

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I join other Senators in expressing my dismay at the proposed cutbacks in the rural bus services. Clearly, it will lead to additional hardship for people living in rural communities. It will increase isolation, and we just heard Senator Mary White speak eloquently about the potential impact of isolation on people. It will also make it more difficult for young people to access the jobs...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I await with interest the outcome of the Council of Ministers meeting in Brussels. If reports are to be believed, at least some of the concerns expressed by Irish citizens in the last Lisbon referendum will be addressed. As someone who campaigned vigorously for the treaty, I was concerned about the issues raised with me on doorsteps and in supermarkets about taxation, neutrality and the...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I join Senator McFadden in seeking a review of procedures to be carried out at the Slane concert. The concert is almost an annual event at this stage, stretching back to the first event in 1981 when Thin Lizzy appeared. That concert went well and there were no problems, but there were riots in Slane village in 1984 as a result of overcrowding when Bob Dylan played there. Is it fair that...

Seanad: Night-time Rural Transport: Statements (23 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I welcome the Minister. I am disappointed the analysis and results of the pilot study do not appear to have not been made available. In effect, we are being asked to discuss a service that has been successful in a vacuum. It would have been helpful to have had figures in advance of this debate. It would have also been helpful to have had a copy of the Minister's speech rather than simply...

Seanad: Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009: Second Stage (23 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I have no objections, assuming I will be allowed to contribute. It means three Independent Members will have spoken before the Labour Party. I agree, so long as I am allowed to contribute.

Seanad: Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009: Second Stage (23 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I thank the Cathaoirleach. I simply wished to make that point.

Seanad: Multi-Unit Developments Bill 2009: Second Stage (23 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I welcome the Minister. I welcome the general principle of this legislation. It bears testimony to the good work done by agencies such as the Law Reform Commission and the National Consumer Agency. This Bill has been a long time coming. I am glad we are reaching the end of the process of sorting out the mess in our management agencies and companies. It is fair to say that there are many...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I join Senators in calling for a debate on small businesses and with Senator MacSharry's call for a debate on extending entrepreneurial skills because, as we have heard and agree, it is by growing our small businesses that we will see more employment and the country coming out of this recession. The latest survey by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association is worrying news. It...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I join Senator Ó Murchú in expressing my belief that we need to become less partisan in our approach to politics. I would also like to pick up on something Senator Walsh said about the Swedish model. Let us not forget that in Sweden, the Government called in the opposition before it made any announcement, and a consensus was reached on both sides before anything was done. The IMF paper...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: They might get headline-----

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I have a question on the Amnesty International report that was published today and given to us by a former colleague, Colm O'Gorman, who is now executive director in that organisation. Sandwiched between human rights abuses in Iraq and Israel is the section on Ireland, which is much shorter than either of those countries, Senators will be glad to hear. However, there are concerns on...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I welcome this morning's report from the Competition Authority on the price of goods in the Republic. One of its findings is that food prices in the South are 30% higher than those in the North. Last month, Tesco made many cuts to food prices in its stores in Border areas and last week SuperValu made almost €100 million worth of cuts, a move it says will help to reduce food prices by 23%....

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Bill 2009: Second Stage (30 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I welcome this Bill and I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I commend the significant work that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has done on the Bill. I read the Bill and reviewed the debates on, and amendments to, it and it seems clear that its provisions are necessary and fit for purpose in the current climate. I commend my party colleague, Deputy Pat...

Seanad: Broadcasting Bill 2008 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (30 Jun 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I congratulate the Minister on the passing of this Bill and compliment his staff on the work they have put into it as it is clearly a complex and detailed document. We have all benefited from the Minister's presence in the House. I was here on a number of occasions when he was present and I pay tribute to his dedication and commitment to the Bill, which has my good wishes and those of my party.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: One of the millennium development goals set in 2000 was to ensure that all of the world's children would have access to primary school education by 2015. We are half way to that time, but we are falling short. Some 75 million children are still without access to primary education, 20 times the population of our country. This morning, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former President Mary...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Jul 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: Did the Senator send them there?

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Jul 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I welcome the Minister. I am glad to hear his commitment to holding mayoral elections in Dublin next year, a year ahead of schedule. I look forward to elections in other city and town councils and the introduction of new town councils and urban district councils as soon as possible. If the proposed charge is a new source of local government funding and not merely a replacement of existing...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Jul 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I move amendment No. 8: In page 7, subsection (4)(a)(iii), line 14, after "granted" to insert "or separation agreement entered into". The Bill as it stands allows for a person to be exempt from the charge if a decree of divorce or judicial separation was granted in respect of that marriage on or before that date. Our amendment seeks to extend that provision so that if a couple has entered...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Jul 2009)

Dominic Hannigan: I do not have a copy of that Finance Act with me so I cannot comment on that point. I understand the Minister's argument to some degree. However, if at the time of paying the charge, a person lodged a copy of his or her separation agreement and subsequently when this was legalised returned to the local authority, would the Minister sanction a rebate for the fee paid? That would cover the...