Results 661-680 of 13,291 for speaker:Joe McHugh

Seanad: A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland: Statements. (28 Jun 2006)

Joe McHugh: Is that policy for the north west?

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe McHugh: I very much welcomed the opportunity, last night, to speak on cancer services. It was an opportunity for the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, to put forward the Government's policy, as well. Good arguments were made. An obvious one was that where specialised cancer services are required there has to be a critical mass of expertise, knowledge and skills. That is acceptable and we must...

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Jul 2006)

Joe McHugh: Last week the Secretary General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, issued a press release on drugs in which he stated that one chooses whether to take drugs. He specified the notion of informed choices. Are we as legislators, educators and parents, informing young people of the dangers of drugs? Do we give them the information adequate to making informed choices? According to an article on...

Seanad: Institutes of Technology Bill 2006: Second Stage. (5 Jul 2006)

Joe McHugh: I join with other Senators in welcoming the Bill and in welcoming the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, to the House. I welcome that all of the institutes of technology will come under the umbrella of the Higher Education Authority, which is timely and could not happen quickly enough, as I learned from speaking to staff at Letterkenny Institute of Technology, LYIT, who also welcome the...

Seanad: Telecommunications Services: Motion (27 Sep 2006)

Joe McHugh: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Being a Galway man he will be familiar with the challenges of providing open access broadband to urban and rural areas. I should mention the good work taking place at grassroots level and refer to the European regional network of application communications technology, the Eirnet group in Donegal, which has been proactive in looking at possible...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: I agree with Senator Maurice Hayes on the Independent Monitoring Commission's report. It has not been published yet, but initial soundings in Northern Ireland suggest it will be a positive step forward. This House must keep a sharp eye on the deadline of 24 November and the prize is to get the institutions up and running again. We must do anything we can in our jurisdiction to assist in...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (11 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: I request the Leader of the House to arrange for a debate on the marine industry. We are a maritime nation and we owe it to people involved in the fishing industry to have such a debate because over the years we have invested quite heavily in the marine infrastructure, be it in piers or our fleets. We should have such a debate as matter of priority. A serious issue is developing in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (11 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: I ask the Cathaoirleach to indulge me. This year that rate was reduced to 5%. This has resulted in an unavoidable mix of herring and other variations of horse mackerel going into the scad and fishermen are dumping hundreds of tonnes of scad, of which 75% to 80% is dead, into the sea. This is happening as a result of an impractical guideline from the Department of Communications, Marine and...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (11 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: We are all in favour of conservation and sustainability but fishermen want practicality. They do not have it and fish are being dumped as a result of crazy bureaucracy introduced by the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: Ireland was recently ranked fourth in the world in terms of trade and investment. While this achievement must be welcomed, the fact that we languish further down the table in the area of technology and production is a worrying sign. Yesterday this was put into sharp focus when I stood in a 68,000 sq. ft. factory in Donegal which has been empty for ten years. Three years ago a private...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: The Chair should either be equitable and let everybody have his or her say, or let nobody speak. This always happens. The Senators who speak last have approximately 30 seconds to make their points. I ask the Chair to allow me to finish my point.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: At our peril we ignore the primary and secondary sectors in this country. Our farmers are being rewarded for not farming. Our pelagic fishermen have their boats tied up in Greencastle and Killybegs. We must think outside the box and stop getting carried away with the spin that our economy is going well. Our economy is hanging by a thread because we ignore the primary and secondary sectors.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: Why are we not supporting a timber processing plant in the north west that would create 1,000 jobs in the morning? Why is the Government failing to do that?

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: We should focus on the primary and secondary sectors, not just the tertiary sector.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: On a point of order, my question was not answered. Is that silence an endorsement of the Government's attitude to the neglect of the primary and secondary sectors?

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: I support Senator Kitt's call for a debate on banking. The key issue in the case in County Wexford is whether parental consent was given. The House should have a robust debate on banking because hundreds of customers are being ripped off as a result of Internet fraud. People who believe they know how to avoid being ripped off are also affected by Internet banking fraud, which affects...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2006)

Joe McHugh: I have learned, from representations made to me this week and from speaking to colleagues in other parts of the country, that a wave of anti-social behaviour is spiralling across the country in the form of the annual pre-Hallowe'en use of bangers and other fireworks. In one example, which illustrates the link between anti-social behaviour among young people and driving, young people threw...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Nov 2006)

Joe McHugh: We need an urgent debate on the follow-up to yesterday's announcement on drift net fishing for salmon. The process has been handled in a simplistic way, pitting drift net men against anglers. This has done an unbelievable amount of damage to the whole fishing industry. I refer to an entire coastal community that has been completely alienated as a result of the decision. It was in no way...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Nov 2006)

Joe McHugh: The decision was made before most of the fishermen from Donegal and Cork were able to set foot in Dublin yesterday to protest. It was made by Cabinet and not before the Joint Committee on Communications, Marine and Natural Resources. This is not indicative of consultation. If an adequate compensation package had been put on the table, a voluntary buy-out would have worked. I discovered this...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Nov 2006)

Joe McHugh: It was as a result of overfishing in the past but not everybody should be tarred with the same brush. We are talking about livelihoods, tradition——