Results 601-620 of 1,886 for speaker:Fergal Browne

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: I concur with Members who asked for the Minister for Education and Science to come to the House. If she does she might also deal with the issue of school transport which has increased fivefold in the past few years yet fewer passengers use the service. It is completely inflexible, and dealing with CIE and the Department is a nightmare for everyone concerned because they will not listen to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: They have turned it around.

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Second Stage. (9 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: I welcome the Minister to the House. I think this is the first time she has presented a Bill in the Seanad as Minister for Health and Children.

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Second Stage. (9 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: She was not presenting a Bill. She was speaking on health topics and has certainly been very busy lately. Fine Gael welcomes this long overdue Bill which the Tánaiste informed me has been circulating for nearly 20 years. The Bill is welcome from everyone's point of view. It is good for the consumers who will get proper treatment when they enter a particular practice. The last thing one needs...

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Second Stage. (9 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: The individual in question has cured many people but he has no medical qualifications whatsoever. The concept of grandparenting rights is, therefore, interesting.

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Second Stage. (9 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: As far as I am aware, the same term is used in respect of slots at Heathrow Airport. Aer Lingus does not own its slots there but it is said to have grandparenting rights in respect of them. This is a good concept because it will allow people who are currently practising and who have a history of doing so to remain in their professions, even though they might not have the necessary...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: Will the Leader invite the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to come before the House to discuss the recent decision by the Attorney General to issue a letter to local authorities in respect of the waste collection waiver scheme? I understand the Attorney General has advised county managers that the scheme should not be allowed for in their estimates when they are...

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (10 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: Richard Daly will take the Minister's seat in the Dáil if he wants.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: I wish to share my time with Senator Terry.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: I am not an economist but if I were to become Minister for Finance tomorrow morning, or even in two years time, I imagine I would be told that the main task of the Minister for Finance is to control spending. Ultimately, Ministers for Finance have some role in bringing in revenue but they cannot control it. They can bring about conditions to ensure revenue will come in every month but the one...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: It is good news if the revenue is up. The Government can take some credit for that but not all the credit. That is a reflection on the general economy. When we hear that road projects, for example, have gone €9 billion over budget, that the Government has underspent in general but overspent in specific areas, that demonstrates that it is mismanaging our finances. It is dreadful that the...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (10 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: For both.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: I thank the Leader for agreeing to alter the time of this afternoon's debate. I also ask that she organise a debate with the Minister for Education and Science to ask her why only €100 million of the €200 million allocated for the primary schools building programme has been spent so far, and the implications of that. I agree with the sentiments expressed by Senator Ross. It is time we had...

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: I find myself agreeing with the Opposition on this issue. I accept the points made by Senators Henry and O'Toole but I believe it would be best to keep both titles for thereasons outlined. My amendment concerning "physiotherapists-physical therapists" highlights exactly the same point as that made by Senator O'Rourke. I imagine that something similar could be done for chiropodists and...

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: It is regrettable that during the Second Stage debate the Minister did not remain until the spokespersons had finished their contributions. Today the Ministers of State switched places, and after an argument being made for half an hour, we now have another Minister of State in place making a fresh argument. The Tánaiste told me that the Bill, which is long overdue, has been bandied about in...

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: I agree with the Leader who is speaking sense, as always. My understanding of section 95 is that if the Minister wants to do this at a later stage it will still require the laying of a draft of the proposed legislation before both Houses of the Oireachtas and each House will have to pass a resolution approving the draft. That means going through the whole procedure again. Why not do it now?...

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: Members have been contacted by both physical therapists and physiotherapists and our objective is to recognise that they both do important work. However, we acknowledge that they do slightly different jobs and have slightly different backgrounds and qualifications. An MBIMS Catibus survey carried out in September last year indicated that nine out of ten Irish adults were aware of...

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: On a point of order, no Member is making that claim.

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: It is a point of information.

Seanad: Health and Social Care Professionals Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 Nov 2004)

Fergal Browne: This debate is turning into a farce. The purpose of the Bill and the reason we all welcomed it was that it would afford protection to members of the public whereby if a person had an illness or an injury he or she would be able to attend the right person, so to speak. It would also afford regulation to the professions which would be beneficial for them. In addition, as Senator Henry pointed...