Results 561-580 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Second Stage (9 Jul 2008)

Alex White: No one can doubt the background against which we are having this debate. We discussed it on a number of occasions in this House and it was discussed elsewhere. I refer to the abuse of alcohol, the problem of binge drinking, and the knock-on effect right across a range of social and personal problems such as mental health problems. All of these issues and their impact have been documented...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Second Stage (9 Jul 2008)

Alex White: This would give the public an opportunity to debate it and give all the interested parties an opportunity to contribute. Let us then have a level-headed debate in the autumn. Senator O'Donovan is incorrect in that nothing will happen during the summer that this Bill would otherwise prevent. Let us leave it and debate the matter more carefully in the autumn.

Seanad: Economic Policy: Statements (Resumed) (9 Jul 2008)

Alex White: My namesake, Senator Mary White, is correct when she says anybody could have seen that the construction boom could not be sustained, and that anybody could see the necessity to take other measures and plan for the future success of the Irish economy by promoting innovation. If she is correct, then her colleagues in Government are guilty of the most serious dereliction of duty to be possibly...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: I concur with Senators Fitzgerald and Quinn on the Intoxicating Liquor Bill and I will support the proposed amendment to the Order of Business. Yesterday, I asked the Leader to stand up for the integrity of the House in respect of the manner in which this Bill is being forced through but he either decided not to defend us or he failed in his attempt. I ask him not to respond by saying, as...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: The reason I believe the Leader will not do so is that the situation obtaining in Romania is completely different. There is a suspicion there, unlike in this country, that the Bill was intended to reduce the number of unflattering stories about politicians who are notorious for corruption and incompetence and whose exploits often dominate national news broadcasts.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: I thank the Leader for rising to the bait.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, lines 18 to 21, to delete subsection (3) and substitute the following: "(3) The Courts of Justice Acts 1924 to 1961, the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Acts 1961 to 2007 and section 7(a), to the extent that it amends the Courts of Justice Act 1924, may be cited together as the Courts Acts 1924 to 2008 and shall be construed together as one.". The reason...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: Is the Minister of State in order to interrupt, as he has not been called?

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: That is not the point.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: The Minister of State should stand up for them.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: I cannot take the matter much further than my colleagues. I do not intend to rise to debate or over-react to some statements in the same way as some colleagues, usually from the opposite side. I take exception to any suggestion on the part of the Minister of State or anybody on his behalf, when he gave the long list of problems and social ills attempted to be addressed in this Bill, that...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: At this early stage, the Minister of State has extended the debate into other issues, despite being urged by the Leas-Chathaoirleach not to do so. In respect of amendment No. 1, I anticipate that the Minister of State will inform the House that while many of the amendments are good, the legislation is not the appropriate place in which to deal with them. I will have some difficulty with...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: There is a clear logic to what Senator Quinn said and the basis of his proposal. He is left in a position where the only way he can introduce it and have it included in the Bill is to make commencement of the legislation contingent on the making of a regulatory analysis about which he spoke. I take what the Minister of State said in querying the constitutionality of such a proposal, that...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: I strongly support the amendment put forward by Senator Regan, as well as the argument behind it. An element of straight thinking is required on this issue but, while I know the Minister of State to be both thoughtful and discerning, I was concerned to hear some of his earlier remarks. If we are serious about addressing the social problems that arise from alcohol abuse and binge drinking,...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: From time to time.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: Why not?

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: The Minister of State's response was unconvincing. The premise on which it was based was that those who advocated lengthier opening hours for nightclubs in England and Wales had done so on the basis that it would reduce social disorder arising from drinking but when social disorder was found not to have been reduced, the plan had failed. Sequential opening is only one aspect of this,...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: The Minister of State is not averse to having a good time himself.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: The Minister of State is going to the wrong places.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Alex White: That means I am right because neutral means "not changed".