Results 661-680 of 996 for speaker:John Gerard Hanafin

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: The reality is that the Opposition will read it the way it wants to read it, as always.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I would like to have that fine debate where the Opposition will outline how it will make cuts €20 billion, make savings and changes to taxation-----

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: -----and show independently audited statements on how the €20 billion deficit would be tackled.

Seanad: Financial Measures (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Second Stage (25 Jun 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I thank the Minister of State, who is a top attender from the Executive in this House on financial Bills and Adjournment debates. This miscellaneous provisions Bill covers a number of areas, including direct debit mandates following the Single Euro Payments Area direct debit scheme. It also includes provisions to transfer the assets of certain pension funds, including UCD, Trinity College...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I also ask the Leader for a debate on the report of an bord snip nua when it becomes available. During the last debate on the Lisbon treaty, it seemed that a new question was put whenever another question was answered. For instance, if the question of neutrality was answered, a question was asked about taxation. If that was answered, some hidden codicil meant that a referendum could never...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I support the call for a debate on the Middle East. In the North of Ireland, it took the two extremes to sit down and talk before we saw any real progress. The reality is that the Israeli Prime Minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has indicated for the first time the possibility of a two-state solution. This is very positive and is to be well promoted. In this regard, Israel has received from...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: It is like the third secret of Fatima.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: The reality is that the Opposition has never given any indication other than a peripheral one as to how it would deal with a €20 billion deficit.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (7 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I will speak about the electricians' strike, although I take a much different perspective from previous speakers. A report in the media has suggested the electricians were offered a deal on the basis of an immediate 10% cut in pay followed by the commencement of negotiations. If this report is true, it amounts to an ultimatum rather than negotiation. Given the responsible approach taken by...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (7 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: The vessel in question is nothing more than a large ship doing its work and providing a pipeline that this economy needs.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I second the Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009 as proposed by the Leader. As a former shop steward and member of the Insurance and Finance Branch of SIPTU, I never thought I would see the day when I would be putting through a Bill that would reduce my terms and conditions of employment. However, the realities of the world are such that...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: If I am mistaken in those dates, I know that Members went into debt to serve in these Houses. It should never be the case, and it was never intended to be the case, that only the wealthy could afford to be in public life. When one considers that the average term in these Houses is now approximately 11 or 12 years, and that is not a long life cycle, it surprises me that members of the media,...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I also wish to refer to the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill because when the war on crime is not being won, drastic measures are needed. Internment is no answer and neither is the current system that we are operating. At least the people who are brought before a non-jury court will have a judge sitting in a fair system whereby they can be adjudged as to whether or not they...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: In calling for a debate on gangland crime, today we got the best example in our newspapers of the need for the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: If this Bill had been enacted some years ago more lives might have been saved. I understand that those who defend civil liberties would have anxieties and there are questions, but in extraordinary times one must take extraordinary measures. The introduction of this Bill has terrorised those criminal gangs. It is hard to credit how they perceive themselves. Perhaps they see themselves as...

Seanad: Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I am sharing time with Senator Fiona O'Malley, with the permission of the House. There is a great temptation to address my remarks to those Senators who remain uncommitted, but of course I have a duty to address the House. The reality is that there is widespread belief among the general public that Europe has been very positive for Ireland. So it has, from the simple matter of allowing us...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the public sector in the next session. While much has been said about the public sector with regard to cuts, perhaps not enough has been said about the wonderful work it does. I am conscious that the Irish renaissance in the 1960s came from Ken Whitaker and Seán Lemass, particularly as a result of the First Programme for Economic Expansion and...

Seanad: OECD and IMF Reports: Statements (10 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: In future decades, an analysis will be done of the boom and people will be asked how they managed events. Some time ago, the Government indicated that the property market was overheating and the issue would have to be addressed. The Oireachtas discussed steps that would be taken to manage the downturn in property and construction related industries. At the time, we anticipated job losses...

Seanad: OECD and IMF Reports: Statements (10 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: The Opposition parties expected economic growth rates of 4% and advocated increased public expenditure. When they lecture the Government and tell us we got the country into this mess, they are wrong. The recession was caused by an international crisis arising from the refusal to support the banks in the United States and the subsequent collapse of Lehman Brothers as well as the debt bubble....

Seanad: OECD and IMF Reports: Statements (10 Jul 2009)

John Gerard Hanafin: It was appealing at the time when I heard the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, say it is not always the Opposition's responsibility to come up with the answers.