Results 701-720 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: We agree to the Order of Business. However, when we agreed to it, we were under the clear impression – it was not the Leader's fault – that the Redundancy Payments Bill would be retrospective and apply to a few cases of recent redundancies. I want to make it clear that the Leader did not behave in any way other than impeccably. We would not have agreed to the Bill being taken with such...

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I say that to the Government, not the Leader who behaved impeccably in this matter. There was an appalling atrocity in Riyadh yesterday. All democratic Governments must do two things. We must deal with the problem of terrorism but we must also ensure the response to it is not so ham-fisted, clumsy and disproportionate that it encourages further terrorism. That is the reason I want the matter...

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I heard exactly what the Minister said.

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (14 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Before I address the motion, I refer to the nonsense uttered by my good friend, Senator Ross. He has a remarkably selective view of the Government and its predecessors. If Deputy Quinn, as Minister for Finance, had behaved with the same level of irresponsibility as the current Minister for Finance in the two years prior to the 1997 election, the Government parties would never have seen the...

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (14 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I accept that Senator Dooley has a limited opinion of my abilities, but I know the difference between being on a train and driving a car. I have begun to believe that statistic of one in 1,400 is a fact. My journeys have been speedier than I expected. I thought that once the penalty points system was introduced everybody who needed their driving licence to do their job would be particularly...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: On a technical point, when does the Leader propose to take any amendments that might be made in the Dáil to the Redundancy Payments Bill if the only business ordered after 1.30 p.m. is the early signature motion? The Dáil might – in my view it should – dramatically amend the Bill. I say this to be helpful though the rest of what I have to say will not be quite so helpful.

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business to insert, before No. 1, statements on the proposal to reintroduce third level fees. I do this not just because I am opposed to it in principle, but because, as two previous speakers said, of the extraordinary and ongoing confusion. I consulted the Revenue Commissioners' report for the latest figures – Revenue is a leisurely body, so the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I wonder how it will be done. Perhaps there will be an education tax on third holidays.

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I will not test the Cathaoirleach's patience.

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: It is for that reason that I know I will not test the limits of the Cathaoirleach's patience. Many parents have children going into third level education for the first time in September. They do not know what their budget should be for next year and the Government will not tell them. This is the most urgent aspect of the matter. People are entitled to know what they will have to pay for their...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: And they all fund Fianna Fáil.

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Who said that?

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: It has already happened.

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: What is he proposing? We would like to know.

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: How many of them contribute to Fianna Fáil?

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Yes. Amendment put: "To insert, before No. 1, statements on the proposal to reintroduce third level fees." Tá

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I support the call for a debate on the issue of tourism, but I suggest that we extend it to include the issue of competitiveness in general. I do not want to anticipate such a debate, and I apologise for anticipating the Cathaoirleach, but it is extraordinary that headlines in newspapers always relate to prices and, in particular, wage costs. However, the most recent statement on...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I would love to know, because we have a wonderfully simple set-up here. We know whom to ask about things. The Leader is in charge and she makes that perfectly clear—

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 May 2003)

Brendan Ryan: —in a most reasonable and amiable fashion.