Results 661-680 of 1,591 for speaker:Eugene Regan

Seanad: Hospitals Building Programme (27 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: A proposal for the redevelopment of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire was included in the National Development Plan 2007-2013. This was confirmed by the Department of Health and Children on 23 January 2007. No objections were lodged to the application and planning permission for the redevelopment was granted by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on 4 September 2008....

Seanad: Hospitals Building Programme (27 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: The question was very specific and the response was general. It does not throw much light on the subject. The project has gone to tender and tenders have been received. How can this be advanced if a new group is to report on the overall issue of rehabilitation services at the end of the year? Tenders have been received and the matter has now stalled. The Minister of State is saying that...

Seanad: Hospitals Building Programme (27 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: I thank the Minister of State for his reply and that last assurance that matters will progress.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Senator is all hot air.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: I take issue with the suggestion made by Senators Alex White and Norris that the House may be in some way irrelevant. I fundamentally disagree with my colleagues. While the quality of debate in this House may be affected by a lack of information and the obfuscation of Ministers who appear before it, over the past two years Senators, through debates, have highlighted these issues and the...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: I ask Senator Norris not to interrupt.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Seanad has also highlighted the actions of Ministers who have come before us and given glib speeches and have been in denial about issues such as recapitalisation of the banks, the public finances and the need for a new budget. These issues have been exposed by debate in this House. The vetting of legislation, the questioning of Ministers and the opposition provided in the House have...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: Slowly but surely the penny has dropped. It may take time but the Government responds to pressure. We will soon have a mini-budget, on which the Minister for Finance has proposed that the Opposition parties make submissions. The Minister believes this is a clever move. He is, in a sense, playing a trick on the Opposition and he expects it to decline his invitation, but it has not done so....

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: I wish to add my voice to the unequivocal condemnation of the killings in Northern Ireland. We are all shocked by these events which are a blast from the past and is something we thought we had left behind. The people killed are Mark Quinsey, 23 years of age, Patrick Azimkar, 21 years of age, and Constable Stephen Paul Carroll, 48 years of age, and one can imagine the misery that has been...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: We have a responsibility and there is something we can do about it, both at security and political level.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (10 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, and its role, are important to policing in Ireland. Confidence in the Garda Síochána is absolutely fundamental to support for the police force in the detection and successful prosecution of crime. The importance of this body is highlighted by the figures which have emerged on the number of complaints it received between May 2007 and the end of...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (10 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: That is a rather perverse argument.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: Yesterday, the Taoiseach observed that the budgetary position was a moving target and that it was difficult to gauge the economic growth rate. Initially, a growth rate estimate for this year of -2% was produced, followed by one for -4% and then another for -6.5%. This does not inspire confidence that the Taoiseach is in control of the figures or forecasts or that there is some element of...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: At least we have moved to the phase in which the Government recognises the existence of acute economic and public finance problems that must be addressed immediately. All political parties will play their part in this regard and it is important for them all to work from the same base. However, Members do not have to hand the figures and policy options in respect of this budget. I seek the...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: This is the Taoiseach's last chance in this regard because if he does not succeed on this occasion and does not get it right, we face guidance from the European Commission or the International Monetary Fund as to how to get out of our economic problems.

Seanad: Health Services (12 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Senator is winning already.

Seanad: Local Authority Funding (12 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: This issue is raised in the context of the general economy. It is the issue of the fixing of development levies that apply to residential developments and businesses. Sections 48 and 49 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, which commenced on 11 March 2002, provide for general, special and supplementary development contributions. These levies, which are chargeable by local authorities,...

Seanad: Local Authority Funding (12 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: I thank the Minister of State for his response. While I appreciate that he anticipates local authorities will revise downwards the level of development levies, I would have hoped for some guidelines and initiative from the Minister in regard to local authorities. I fully understand it is a reserved function as set out in the legislation but the local authorities are bound by guidelines...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The past few weeks have been good for this country. The welcome that Brian Cowen received in Washington from President Obama was very uplifting.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen. The victories on the sports field and Bernard Dunne's victory in the WBA super bantamweight title fight were also good for the country. It just shows what we are capable of. We are all agreed that the most severe economic crisis is confronting the country. We have gone through the process of denial, which is common with economic bubbles. There is denial...