Results 641-660 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Seanad: Nuclear Plants: Motion. (25 May 2005)

Shane Ross: With the permission of the House I propose to share my time with Senator McCarthy. I am delighted this motion has been proposed because I have been tabling motions on Sellafield for a very long time in a similar, but perhaps not quite so detailed, manner. No matter how many times motions are tabled regarding Sellafield and the danger it poses to Ireland they have little effect, and this is...

Seanad: Aviation Action Plan: Statements. (31 May 2005)

Shane Ross: I welcome this debate and appreciate the fact that the Minister comes into this House quite frequently and is willing to speak and listen to us, if not to take our suggestions on board. At least he attends the House and gives us the opportunity to make those suggestions. This debate, which may have been useful a little earlier, is unreal partly because the events being discussed have been...

Seanad: Aviation Action Plan: Statements. (31 May 2005)

Shane Ross: Those who are benefiting from this decision are the Fianna Fáil Party — the Progressive Democrats are suffering — and the trade union movement. This is because they have a coincidence of interest here. The Fianna Fáil Party hopes this decision will hold the north Dublin seats. Its means of doing this is to keep the trade unions happy. The trade unions will be happy if the workforce is...

Seanad: Aviation Action Plan: Statements. (31 May 2005)

Shane Ross: Sorry, I can blame Dublin Airport and I will tell the Minister why. Dublin Airport charges International Currency Exchange, ICE, €1 million a year. This was the charge insisted upon by Aer Rianta because it had a quasi-monopoly for so long. That is why I blame Dublin Airport. I accept there is also a small Bank of Ireland branch at the airport but ICE is in a monopoly situation and can...

Seanad: Aviation Action Plan: Statements. (31 May 2005)

Shane Ross: I will finish this point and then conclude. We are informed that 51% of the airline is being sold. This is correct and the trade unions kick up about it. Where will the other 49% be? It will be in the hands of the State and the unions, the old alliance again. They are locked together and they will stick together. Where is the 51% going to be? It will be distributed everywhere in multiples,...

Seanad: Aviation Action Plan: Statements. (31 May 2005)

Shane Ross: I am just going down the runway. The other 51% will be distributed in such a way that no one will be able to touch them. The House has heard some scaremongering this afternoon. It is, "We are awfully worried about the slots. We are going to protect them and the brand." Nothing is more calculated to scare off any potential investor than this sort of talk. He will not get rid of the slots...

Seanad: Aviation Action Plan: Statements. (31 May 2005)

Shane Ross: I am finishing. The State will go on trying to reassure its statist friends and every time this is said, the value of the airline goes down. The truth is that nobody cares. This is a political solution to an economic problem. It is the worst possible solution but the Minister and the Taoiseach's friends in the trade unions can rest assured they have won an enormous victory. They are still in...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: I endorse what Senator Brian Hayes said. It would be appropriate for us to debate the Morris tribunal reports in a calm and not hysterical manner. Senator Brian Hayes used the word "systemic". As it is convenient, we have for a long time been happy to dismiss the difficulties, brutalities and wrongdoing of some members of the Garda Síochána as bad apples in a good force. The questions that...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: ——that there is a kind of independent republic in Donegal where this happens, but I doubt if that is the case. I, for one, am beginning to be convinced that there is a larger problem which should be investigated. That larger problem is, as Senator Brian Hayes correctly stated, undermining the great majority of gardaí who do a superb job. In passing, we should not forget that we are very...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: And socialist parties, like Senator Mansergh's own party.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: Perhaps we could initiate a serious debate which allows for dissent as well. The Houses, political parties and the establishment are in danger of becoming irrelevant on this issue while the people take the matter into their own hands.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Fisheries Protection. (21 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: I wish to raise a matter which is becoming close to a national scandal, namely, drift netting off Irish waters. I have come across an extraordinary number of people who are concerned about this although I represent a constituency which is not near the sea, the sea fishing community or any vested interest group. However, I have been lobbied by many people; anglers, hoteliers and others in the...

Seanad: Fisheries Protection. (21 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: In light of the Minister of State's reply, am I correct in believing he intends to do absolutely nothing about this problem?

Seanad: Fisheries Protection. (21 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: Plenty of monitoring. I thank the Minister of State.

Seanad: National Consumer Agency: Motion. (29 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: I am speaking at the request of Senator Leyden. It interests me that the Government proposes a motion in this House as I doubt there are any merits for the Government. It has all the time in the world to propose its own legislation and motions and I do not understand why we share time with it through this particular process, a point proven in this instance. It is another congratulatory motion...

Seanad: National Consumer Agency: Motion. (29 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: If one examines it closely, this motion is window-dressing in an attempt to champion the cause of the consumer. I am suspicious when I hear the word "strategy". To me, this is a substitute for the word "action". The Government is giving itself a pat on the back for establishing a consumer strategy group that has decided to recommend a new agency, which will apparently manifest as an interim...

Seanad: National Consumer Agency: Motion. (29 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: It is a smokescreen and one must wonder whether this strategy will work. We have had a series of what now appear to be failed State agencies and State appointments——

Seanad: National Consumer Agency: Motion. (29 Jun 2005)

Shane Ross: ——to protect the power of the consumer. An example is the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs. Does that satisfy Senator White to begin with? That body is now apparently irrelevant and will be subsumed, along with its director, into the new agency. This indicates that this office was a busted flush. It did not work and we all know that to be the case. The simple reason is that it...