Results 601-620 of 743 for speaker:Jim D'Arcy

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: The economy must be good in Galway if there are traffic jams.

Seanad: Report of British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly on Cross-Border Police Co-operation and Illicit Trade: Statements (10 Mar 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I welcome the report. This is a national issue, although the hub is the Border. One is as likely, or more likely, to purchase laundered diesel in Tralee, Tipperary or Galway than in Dundalk. A point was made today by the First Minister about the situation in north Louth and south Armagh. The people of north Louth are and always have been law abiding. The people of Haggardstown,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Stormont House Agreement: Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade (2 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I congratulate him on the work he did leading up to the Stormont House Agreement. It looked to be dead in the water and then the Minister rode in like the Lone Ranger and he sorted it out. I know there were others involved but the Minister played a massive role. I am sure after this gig he will be heading for the United Nations. After so many years of...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I note the publication of the Education (Admission to Schools) Bill by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. I welcome the proposal to prevent schools from applying selection criteria in regard to the occupation or financial status of the student's parents, or a student's academic ability, skills or aptitude. I am less sure about limiting to 10% the places reserved...

Seanad: One-Parent Family Supports: Motion (15 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I welcome this discussion on lone parents and note that one in four families with children in Ireland is a lone-parent family, including my own, I might add. I know what it is like to try to raise children on one's own. Lone parents need and are entitled to every possible support. The vast majority of lone parents whom I deal with continually do an excellent job in child rearing, often in...

Seanad: One-Parent Family Supports: Motion (15 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: Senator Cullinane will not be here.

Seanad: Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (28 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I welcome the fact that the Minister has accepted amendments giving additional safeguards as to standards. This Bill is a good idea and I welcome it. I also welcome the fact that institutions of such high repute as the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland can market their services abroad on a level playing field with others. Senator Power has acknowledged the high quality of the provision...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Garda Deployment (30 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: Will the Minister for Justice and Equality clarify the position on staffing levels and operational procedures in Blackrock Garda station, Blackrock, County Louth, in view of community concerns about a possible reduction in staff numbers? In 2012, a Garda sergeant and four gardaí were stationed at Blackrock Garda station. The number had been augmented some years earlier due to the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Garda Deployment (30 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I would like to put on record that the people of Louth appreciate the great work being done by An Garda Síochána. Traditionally, special resources were provided to deal with extraordinary actions in Border areas. While I acknowledge that the allocation of resources is a matter for the Garda Commissioner, it would appear that Louth is...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: Sing the song.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Apr 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: Will the Leader invite the Minister for Justice and Equality to the House to discuss the allocation of Garda numbers to the various divisions? I know it is a reserved function of the Garda Commissioner to allocate the numbers but the reasoning behind it needs to be explained. I am delighted with the 550 additional recruits and the high quality of the work done by the Garda...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I very much support my Louth colleague, Senator Brennan, in his call for greater attention to be paid to Louth in respect of the Ireland's Ancient East initiative. When Queen Maeve and her husband Aihill were lying in bed in Cruachan in County Roscommon, he boasted about the strength and potency of his white bull and she told him she knew a man in Cooley who had a bigger bull than him, it...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I enjoyed the bit about Thoor Ballylee. Anything which excludes the Táin saga from the Ireland's Ancient East initiative is wrong. It is a disgrace. We need change and accountability and we need to know why it was excluded and what will be done about it.We need to know why that was excluded and what is going to be done about it. That saga could be the basis of a great tourism product...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: We need all of it to be recognised, including Diarmuid agus Gráinne. We could extend it to Slieve Gullion, where Fionn Mac Cumhaill hunted wild boar under a geis, and bring in south Armagh. In an article he wrote for The Irish Times, Diarmaid Ferriter was complimentary about the 2016 centenary commemorations but he also suggested they were an opportunity to revisit the fact that...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: It is not a core subject.

Seanad: Report of the Working Group on Seanad Reform 2015: Statements (5 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I congratulate the members of the working group on the work that has been done to consider many aspects of Seanad reform.I am proud to be a Member of the Seanad given the legislative contribution it has made. I share Mr. O'Toole's sentiments that it is great to be in the Seanad without needing to be elected. Unfortunately, I am told that lightening does not strike twice in the same place....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I was nearly going to sing "The Farmer and the Cowman Should be Friends" from "Oklahoma" when I heard Mr. Robert O'Leary talk about the closeness of the submissions of the INTO and the IPPN. It is great to see them working on the same track. A computer cannot replace a teacher in a classroom. The teacher is the main resource in the classroom and the computer is a tool. The computer is an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: As am I.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: I thought Mr. Peter Mullen's suggestion of the education and training boards, ETBs, taking over the provision of technical support was an excellent idea. I ask that it be examined by the Department and possibly piloted. I am sure some ETBs such as Mr. Martin O'Brien in the Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board would be more than willing to give it a go, as would other ETBs. Have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection: ICT in Primary Schools: Discussion (6 May 2015)

Jim D'Arcy: On Mr. O'Leary's point, why has he such a small amount of power in his school?