Results 721-740 of 14,090 for speaker:Marc MacSharry

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

Marc MacSharry: As the Leader of the Opposition has said, we are supporting the motion on the basis that this is a very important issue. I deeply regret Senator Hayden's comments at the beginning, because as a member of the previous Seanad, I pioneered this issue in the entire Oireachtas with the establishment of the Prevention of Family Home Repossessions Group and its website www.saveyourhome.ie. Some...

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

Marc MacSharry: It uses language such as "where appropriate"-----

Seanad: Housing Market: Motion (22 Jun 2011)

Marc MacSharry: -----and "where appropriate" is determined by the banks.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jun 2011)

Marc MacSharry: With Senator Ivana Bacik, I welcome the announcement on the first 5,000 places on the internship programme, although it is regrettable the number is so small. A difficulty I have with it, one that is borne out by the Union of Students in Ireland, concerns the reason one must be three months unemployed before one can take up a place. Surely the object of this activity is to ensure people are...

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (7 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I certainly do not plan to delay a Bill which has all-party agreement. While the Office of Tobacco Control did not figure too much in the Minister of State's speech, it is worth noting the good work it did from when it was first established. We must commend the many health professionals and various others who served the office, advising Ministers and the Department of Health on...

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (7 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: It is the minimum wage.

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (7 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: Well done.

Seanad: Medical Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (8 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister of State. It is good to have her here again. Fianna Fáil will support this Bill and welcomes the fact it has been introduced so quickly in order to enable the recruitment of additional doctors from overseas. The Minister of State has discussed each section in detail and I do not propose to reiterate what she said, other than to welcome the broad thrust of the Bill...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: Today we published the Family Home Bill 2011 which will be taken in the Seanad during Private Members' time on 27 July. It includes some radical proposals to protect families and prevent them from losing their homes. It has been brought forward in the context of the crisis Ireland is facing and informed by two years' work, debate in the Houses, the work of the Prevention of Family Home...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: Yes. I am asking for a debate on this issue. I have very serious concerns about the proximity of HIQA to senior management in the HSE. Following a difficult process under the Freedom of Information Act, I managed to get my hands on a report which proved that Mr. John Billings of HIQA - I am quoting words from minutes he wrote in respect of which I had to solicit the help of the Ombudsman,...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: -----to facilitate Galway being chosen as the location of a cancer centre of excellence and ensure no other hospital could secure such a centre. I have grave concerns about the integrity of that organisation which has been borne out today by my colleague, Senator John Crown. If debates on these issues could be arranged, I would greatly appreciate it.

Seanad: Unfinished Housing Developments: Statements (13 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for taking the time to give us so much of the afternoon. I am sorry I missed some of the other contributions and I am conscious that Senator Hayden has significant expertise in this area. I have been involved in the auctioneering business in recent years, a profession which, along with the developers, has contributed to the problems...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: First, I draw Members' attention to the fact that as they were going to bed last night, a very important competition in New York was drawing to a conclusion, namely, the Microsoft Imagine Cup 2011. Each year, Microsoft invites students from all over the world to come up with ideas under a range of headings, including software design, to solve the world's problems. I am delighted to announce...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: In a week in which Members also celebrated the prowess of Trinity College in being among the top 100 universities in the world, is it not fantastic that an Irish institute of technology and its students competed with 350,000 other student entries from 183 countries and not only qualified for the finals but won that event? I am sure the Leader will permit me to take this opportunity to send...

Seanad: A Vision for Change: Statements (14 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and this opportunity to make a few brief points on this important issue. I look forward to hearing from the professionals in the House who have experience of this issue. A Vision for Change was embraced by the previous Government as policy and we all want to see it followed. I pay tribute to the former Minister of State, Mr. John Maloney, who in...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I join other speakers in calling for a debate on health. The Minister for Health, Deputy Reilly, should come to the House to discuss a wide variety of issues which have arisen. Notwithstanding that the Ministers of State, Deputies Shortall and Lynch, have come to the House to discuss specific issues, the senior Minister must make himself available to Senators. Media reports at the weekend...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I take the opportunity to wish the Taoiseach well on behalf of all of us in the important summit taking place in Europe today. I hope he will be in a position to secure the best possible deal for Ireland in the context of any deal being done for the Greeks or otherwise. I realise next week will be a busy week as it is the end of term and that there will be legislation to be concluded but I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I join my colleague, Senator Darragh O'Brien, in welcoming the reduction in the interest rate payable by Ireland on its bailout deal and the doubling of the repayment term to 14 years. European leaders, in the main, have been behind the curve on the debt crisis, but this brings them somewhat up to speed. Team Ireland must be commended on its work in this regard, including the Taoiseach, the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: It is highly regrettable that "Oireachtas Report" will not be broadcast this week. This underlines, once again, the disdain and contempt in which the mainstream media hold the actions of this House. In advance of any referendum, they seem to have decided the Seanad will be abolished and have the gall to claim that proceedings in the House are simply not newsworthy. It is the news editors...

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Order for Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Marc MacSharry: I move: "That Second Stage be taken today."