Results 7,161-7,180 of 7,278 for speaker:Dick Roche

European Council: Statements (7 Jul 2010)

Dick Roche: I thank Members. The exchanges at the end tend to be better than the set-piece speeches. I have been ignoring most of the set-piece speeches. The European Council was the beginning of a new phase because it is implementing the processes that have been put in place in the Lisbon treaty. The gestation period of the treaty has been long. It is interesting that in facing the challenges the...

Credit Institution (Eligible Liabilities Guarantee) (Amendment) Scheme 2010: Motion (29 Sep 2010)

Dick Roche: It will be the only thing Deputy Burton got accurate.

Announcement by Minister for Finance on Banking of 30 September 2010: Statements (30 Sep 2010)

Dick Roche: Is Deputy Noonan suggesting the agreement should be retrospective because that is not the position of the European Union?

Announcement by Minister for Finance on Banking of 30 September 2010: Statements (30 Sep 2010)

Dick Roche: We should make them stand for election.

Announcement by Minister for Finance on Banking of 30 September 2010: Statements (30 Sep 2010)

Dick Roche: That is a terrible thing to say about Tallaght.

Biological Weapons Bill 2010: Order for Second Stage (7 Oct 2010)

Dick Roche: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Biological Weapons Bill 2010: Second Stage (7 Oct 2010)

Dick Roche: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." The principal purpose of this Bill is to make further provision in domestic law for the State's obligations under the 1925 Geneva Protocol and the 1972 Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, as well as relevant elements of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1540 of 2004. The Geneva Protocol banned the use in war of poisonous gases,...

Biological Weapons Bill 2010: Second Stage (7 Oct 2010)

Dick Roche: I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I welcome the fact that there is all-party agreement in this area and I realise that the contributions were made in the spirit of improving the Bill. I agree wholeheartedly with Deputy Ó Snodaigh that even though Ireland is a small country - although, as Deputy Barrett said, we often punch above our weight - and even though issues may not arise...

Biological Weapons Bill 2010: Second Stage (7 Oct 2010)

Dick Roche: The Deputies mentioned inspection; vigilance and surveillance are always issues. A number of contributors made reference to extra-territorial jurisdiction. This important aspect of the legislation extends the criminal jurisdiction of the State to acts committed outside the State regardless of the nationality of the perpetrator. This is only possible in rare cases such as war crimes. My...

Biological Weapons Bill 2010: Referral to Select Committee (7 Oct 2010)

Dick Roche: I move: That the Bill be referred to the Select Committee on Foreign Affairs, in accordance with Standing Order 122(1) and paragraph 1(a)(i) of the Orders of Reference of that committee.

Order of Business (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: Sinn Féin supporting the Constitution, for a change.

Order of Business (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: I never had any doubts.

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: I propose that, as it is a more logical sequence.

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: I want to address some of the issues and members can then focus questions on the specifics. The discussion was logical until the last contribution. The Van Rompuy report and the discussions in the European Council were not about trying to force any member state into a difficult position. If Deputy Ó Snodaigh had taken the time to continue reading the conclusions, he would see that the...

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: I agree with Deputy Barrett. He and I have an unusual degree of consensus on rating agencies. It would make sense for the Commission proposals to be fast-tracked. There is something fundamentally bizarre about the existing rating agencies, in particular the major ones who were all involved in the crash in the United States and who were all saying up to a few days before Lehman Brothers...

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: I agree with Deputy Barrett that real difficulties exist. The Government and the European Union want the Cancún conference to deliver significant and ambitious targets. We also want intermediate steps to emerge from Cancún. This country has a particular interest in that regard. For example, we have made contributions on how industry, agriculture and forestry should be treated. Skill...

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: We are committed to that. Member states have agreed to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020. We are anxious to go to the higher level but I do not think Europe can do that alone.

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: Deputy Howlin makes a valid point. The simplified procedures that were set out, on which we voted and that the nation accepted are precisely as the Deputy has set out and are intended to permit specific types of change. When discussing the concept of treaty change, it is important that we all discuss the same issue.

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: Quite right. The Crotty judgment has been referred to twice in the debate so far. It sets out the cut-off point and makes it clear that a referendum is not required where treaty change proposals "do not alter the essential scope or objectives of the Communities". This is the point at which the question of whether a referendum was required would be resolved. To put it at its simplest, it...

European Council: Statements (3 Nov 2010)

Dick Roche: Deputy Barrett is right. It is dangerous, premature and disingenuous to the public to be getting ourselves into a situation as if there was some major threat facing us immediately. The Council's final wording will not be available until December. To put it mildly, anyone getting into a twist would be premature. Deputy Ó Snodaigh asked whether we had the moral backbone to face the Germans.