Results 741-760 of 1,451 for speaker:Michael Finucane

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: Most urban communities, especially towns, now have designated parking areas for drivers with disabilities. In many cases, a concession is in place that provides free parking for the first hour. Traffic wardens to whom I have spoken consider the fine for illegal use of designated spaces, at €15, is quite restricted. I support an increase in the fine to €100 as a deterrent to those who park...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: That was well done.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: I fully support the amendment. On Second Stage I asked whether section 27 gave an exemption to gardaí driving Ministers' cars. I understand that a regulation existed under the original Act. If I drove on a motorway at a speed of in excess of 70 mph and was prosecuted, would I be prosecuted on the basis that by driving in excess of 70 mph I could endanger other road users? Otherwise I should...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: I am speaking in general about this point.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: I thought we were dealing with section 27.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: I would be glad to come back to it.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: Ministerial Mercedes.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: I was nearly finished anyway.

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: Many rules and regulations are set out for the ordinary punters and Ministers should lead by example. If my car driven at in excess of 70 mph is determined to constitute a safety hazard to others, surely a ministerial car could also be determined as a safety hazard to other road users. Who determines the safety of the road users? Is it the garda who stops another garda driving a Minister's...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: While we do not know the full facts, the classic example was the recent head-on collision near Killarney involving a Minister's car. Fortunately everybody recovered from the accident. The Minister's car was a Volvo and it went up in flames after the accident. Volvo prides itself on the safety of its cars. I am not inferring that the Minister's car was speeding prior to the accident. However,...

Seanad: Northern Ireland Peace Process: Motion. (15 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: I apologise for not being present for the Taoiseach's contribution. I would have liked to have heard him but I was delayed at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Article 35.4.1° of the Constitution. I rarely speak on Northern Ireland issues in the House but I have recently felt rather emotional about them. What has probably energised me is the unfair criticism on the part of Fianna Fáil to...

Seanad: Northern Ireland Peace Process: Motion. (15 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: When Sinn Féin decides to come in from the cold and get respectability within the body politic, it must stop masquerading. When Gerry Adams says he must find out what the IRA thinks it is as if the mirror is fogged and he asks the reflection what it thinks. People's minds are divided when Sinn Féin members and the people in charge speak, wondering whether they are expressing their own views...

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: "We want the elderly to be able to live out their retirement in dignity and security without having to worry about the State confiscating their savings." Those words were spoken by the Tánaiste, Deputy Harney, in 1996. She was in Opposition then but now she is Tánaiste. I want to refer to the health charges and the €2,000 refund to be made to patients. I am appalled that the entire amount...

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: It may well be so.

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: We would be adamant that such money should be appropriately refunded. In this context, the people concerned are entitled to a full refund.

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: We had a debate in this House on Aer Lingus some time ago. During that debate we were promised that a decision would be made prior to Christmas when the sub-committee had concluded its deliberations and made a decision on the future of the company. We now understand this decision has been deferred, possibly to the end of the January. If procrastination means anything, what is happening is...

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: We want ethics in this debate.

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach has decided to bring this issue to finality.

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 Dec 2004)

Michael Finucane: A refund.

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jan 2005)

Michael Finucane: The jailing of Ray Burke for tax evasion has already been raised. However, I wish to raise the matter of the debate that took place in 1997 when Ray Burke was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs. I believed then that the Taoiseach made a serious error of judgment. While the Taoiseach now claims the benefit of hindsight, in 1997 he had the benefit of Mr. Albert Reynolds's experience as...