Results 61-80 of 4,717 for speaker:Martin Mansergh

Seanad: Primary Education: Motion. (11 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: No untruths were told in County Tipperary.

Seanad: Primary Education: Motion. (11 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: He was right to do so.

Seanad: National Tourism Development Authority Bill, 2002: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (12 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister to the House. I am sorry in many ways that we have to discuss this amendment at all. In the Minister's previous office the Equal Status Bill was landmark legislation for which he will be honourably remembered. Many golf clubs throughout the country have acted in conformity with its provisions. When the Taoiseach opened a new clubhouse in Tipperary, for example, the club...

Seanad: National Tourism Development Authority Bill, 2002: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (12 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: The book is Warrenpoint Golf Club, A History 1893-1993 by Tom McAteer. Golf is a fine sport and Ireland is an ideal country for it. It has become a major part of our tourism industry. It is most regrettable that the Golfing Union of Ireland has been so backward in terms of gender equality and that there are still one or two clubs, unfortunately the most prestigious clubs, exercising what can...

Seanad: National Tourism Development Authority Bill, 2002: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage. (12 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: There is a balance to be struck here. I am not sure I really agree with either extreme. A board chairman appointed by a previous Government could start to adopt a very political role in opposing the Government policy, which would be undesirable. However, there should be reasonable freedom as shown, for example, by the chairman of the IDA during the debate on the Nice Treaty. He clearly had...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill, 2002 [Certified Money Bill]: Second and Subsequent Stages. (12 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the opportunity to debate vigorously with Senator Higgins the state of the public finance. The Appropriation Bill is formal legislation which provides legal authority for spending during the year, not only the original Estimates but also the Supplementary Estimates. Referring to a Supplementary Estimate of €500 million, the Minister of State said this is a gross rather than a net...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill, 2002 [Certified Money Bill]: Second and Subsequent Stages. (12 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: I thank the Minister for a good and expeditious debate. Question put and declared carried.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: I warmly support the Bill and I welcome the Minister. The Bill is a well thought out initiative. The Minister provided the Government or official pedigree of the Bill, I would like to fill out the picture by giving its political pedigree. The Bill was a major centrepiece of the Fianna Fáil manifesto in May of this year. The manifest proposed to establish, under the auspices of the NTMA, a...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: The Bill is the fulfilment of a key election pledge which became a major strategic section of the programme for Government. The Bill and the initiative reflect the importance that Fianna Fáil has attached for over 40 years to the development and improvement of our infrastructure. It reflects an interventionist and Government led approach, which refers back to the programme for economic...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: Yes, and that has been worth billions of pounds to the country. It is not based on any starry-eyed approach to PPPs. I read the debate on the Bill in the Lower House and it appears Deputy Burton does not understands the Department of Finance if she believes that it operates under the mantra "private sector good, public sector bad". There is a difficulty with PPPs, but, unless there is real...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: It will soon be completed.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: Is this a time to put more cars on the road?

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Second Stage. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: A lot of progress has been made.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: My reservation about the amendment is that financing is a separate issue from that of project management. Project management relates to the execution of a project according to technical and perhaps financial parameters. The Bill has to do with something rather separate such as financial mechanisms. Therefore, I am not sure whether it is a sound amendment.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: The wording of this amendment does not seem to be in accordance with the point made by Senator Paddy Burke. The amendment seems to be superfluous, as section 3 of the Bill clearly covers all possibilities in its reference to, "the optimal means of financing the cost of public investment projects." As the Minister of State, Deputy Treacy, has stated, the EU has strict tendering procedures. I...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: I completely reject Senator Paddy Burke's contention that it is another layer of bureaucracy. It is substituting for consultants who often cost much more than bureaucracy. We are talking about a procedure which is already there, not adding another procedure. The experience with bodies like the NTMA showed that there is a possibility of saving significant amounts of money and of broadening the...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: While I understand the sentiment behind this amendment and its superficial attraction, I think it would be a bad move. We heard the Minister say that there was no obstacle to the money from the national pensions fund being used for infrastructural projects, but this subordinates the judgment of those who manage the fund to the NDFA and this should not happen. Those who manage the fund should...

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: No, the Office of the Taoiseach.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: I worked with the Department of Finance, not in it.

Seanad: National Development Finance Agency Bill, 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (17 Dec 2002)

Martin Mansergh: Which body would make the decision? The national pensions reserve fund or the National Finance Development Agency?