Results 681-700 of 1,677 for speaker:Ned O'Sullivan

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I second the amendment proposed by Senator Wilson. I support Senator Brennan in welcoming the proposed new jobs for the Dundalk area and compliment all those involved in securing them. Coming from the opposite end of the country, my initial reaction is that of the dog in the manger in that for many years now the only announcements in regard to jobs in my area have been job losses.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: There is a need to address the clear imbalance in terms of industrial development and investment between the Pale and the west of Ireland. It was Benjamin Disraeli who in the 19th century famously described England as being made up of two nations. There are two nations in Ireland in terms of rural Ireland getting an unfair crack of the whip.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: Following the recent local elections there are now approximately 1,000 new men and women working away in their new councils on matters relevant to the council, committee work, representation on education boards, regional forums and so on. They will also have to take on additional work because there are no longer any town councils and the regions are larger and will be far more difficult and...

Seanad: 750th Anniversary of First Irish Parliament: Statements (18 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I am delighted to welcome the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, to the Chamber and commend him on a very interesting paper he presented to us. I also welcome our distinguished guests and members of the Castledermot community. I know it well and have a brother-in-law living there. It is a source of pride to them to have an association with a key event in our history. Although I studied history,...

Seanad: 750th Anniversary of First Irish Parliament: Statements (18 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: Somewhere along the line it was decided that talking was better, jaw-jaw, not war-war. Early democracy began in ancient Greece. The Minister, Deputy Deenihan, is a great student of Greek, and remembers much more of it than I. It was the Greeks who perfected representative democracy with their assemblies, and that was continued into ancient Rome with its senate. Although we criticise the...

Seanad: 750th Anniversary of First Irish Parliament: Statements (18 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I commend my colleagues opposite who supported the Opposition battle because the loss of the Seanad would have been a very serious loss to democracy. We had a little incident last week where democracy was fiddled around with too much for my liking. All in all, this is a happy day. I will finish on a happy note. The Minister, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, is doing a tremendous job. I echo the...

Seanad: 750th Anniversary of First Irish Parliament: Statements (18 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: We are happy to agree with the Leader.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jun 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: Members will have received recently a copy of the annual report of Horse Racing Ireland, which makes interesting and encouraging reading. It highlights again the contribution of the racing industry to the economy and the number of jobs involved in it, apart from the great image it creates for us abroad. I ask that the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine come into the House to take...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I found the arguments made by Senator Mary Ann O'Brien on the suitability of St. James's quite compelling and I am keen to support her call for the Minister to come in to examine the issue before it goes any further. Clearly, she knows what she is talking about through her involvement with the Jack & Jill Foundation. The issue should be looked at. Senator Denis Landy mentioned the...

Seanad: Business of Seanad (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: On a point of order, has that change been notified to us?

Seanad: Business of Seanad (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I must have missed that. I am sorry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Licensing and Harvesting of Seaweed in Ireland: Discussion (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I respectfully ask the witness to speak into the microphone.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Licensing and Harvesting of Seaweed in Ireland: Discussion (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I will make a brief statement. Overall, this is a fascinating story. Seaweed seems to be a very good story for Ireland. Possibly, it can get better. Like all success stories, it is creating its own problems. I have a number of questions. Obviously, the existing traditional harvesters are worried about the future. What kind of future will they have if this licence is granted and Acadian...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Licensing and Harvesting of Seaweed in Ireland: Discussion (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: In regard to the decision to sell the shares, was it strictly a commercial decision or was it done with a view to the future of the industry?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Licensing and Harvesting of Seaweed in Ireland: Discussion (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: Is there a guarantee?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht: Licensing and Harvesting of Seaweed in Ireland: Discussion (8 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: Is there any way in which the guarantee from Acadian Seaplants Limited that it will supply and co-operate with the smaller businesses be incorporated in a more formalised way? As it stands, the guarantee is pretty vague. If I was in business, I doubt I would get much banking credit on the strength of it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Bus Éireann: Chairman Designate (9 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I thank the Chairman for the promotion.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Bus Éireann: Chairman Designate (9 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I welcome Mr. Murphy and thank him for appearing before the committee. As a Kerryman, I agree in the main with what Deputy Griffin had to say about the effectiveness of the service in our county. I have a particular bugbear, which I raised recently in the Seanad, but without any great satisfaction. Let me recount this little anecdote, to which I invite Mr. Murphy to respond. A friend of...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: I want to stress my deep surprise and disappointment at the attitude of some of our MEPs to the appointment of the former Minister, Mr. Phil Hogan, as Commissioner. It is very unusual to see Irish people bad-mouthing their own when they are away from home. It is not done. As we say at home, you do not talk badly about your own when you are out of town. Mr. Hogan has come through the...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jul 2014)

Ned O'Sullivan: The celebrated American humorist Robert Benchley wrote a hilarious essay called "Down With Pigeons" in which he imagines that the pigeon population has an attitude towards him and is always out to get him. When he goes to Trafalgar Square or St. Mark's Square, he imagines that all the pigeons have gathered there on purpose just to do him in. Where is this leading? I have nothing against...