Results 8,361-8,380 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris

Seanad: Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (10 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I hope the matter of the speaking rotation will be examined as it is important to have a degree of balance between the Government side and this side of the House. I commend my colleagues on introducing this timely and valuable Bill. I have great respect for my humanist friends and colleagues, including the Humanist Association of Ireland. Speaking as a committed and believing Christian, I...

Seanad: Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (10 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I am speaking from a lifetime's experience. Then there is the ability to deal with people, which has a HR aspect, including judgment, appearance, articulation, organisational skills and ability to give time. These criteria may be fine for the humanist and I am sure they work within these small groups, but for an objective assessment, we need to examine these criteria and enshrine them in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2011)

David Norris: Members of the House will perhaps know - certainly if they consult the record - that over many years I have intervened to protect the right to privacy of citizens of this country against inappropriate media intrusion, such as the publication of the names and occupations of accused persons in a country in which people are held to be innocent until found guilty. For example, after a robbery in...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I support Senator Power's amendment to the Order of Business in respect of the residents of Priory Hall. Unfortunately, I will not be in a position to vote on the matter because I will be delivering to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government a message relating to the dog breeding-----

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2011)

David Norris: Yes. I would be very happy to second it, if that is agreeable. Mr. Kevin Cardiff is appearing before a committee of the European Parliament today. I do not wish to impugn the reputation of Mr. Cardiff and all I know about him is already a matter of general knowledge. However, questions have been raised at the Committee of Public Accounts in respect of certain matters, particularly the...

Seanad: Health Awareness and Physical Fitness: Motion (23 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I compliment Senator Eamonn Coghlan on a remarkable initiative. I believe this is the first time this subject has been properly discussed in the Seanad and the Senator also achieved another unique first in getting all Senators present to stand on one leg with their eyes closed. Perhaps this is appropriate because it appears to be the stance adopted by the current Government. I apologise for...

Seanad: Health Awareness and Physical Fitness: Motion (23 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I was watching it on the monitor. That is not a point of order, as I am sure the Acting Chairman will point out. That is a point of information, which is not allowed under the rules of the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2011)

David Norris: As one can imagine, I agree very much with what Senator Mullins said. I hope his comments will be borne in mind when the Committee on Procedure and Privileges examines three complaints I will be laying before it before the weekend. Let me consider the question of the appointment of Mr. Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors. Everybody has named him. I do not suppose we should but we...

Seanad: Address by Dr. Mary Robinson (24 Nov 2011)

David Norris: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Address by Dr. Mary Robinson (24 Nov 2011)

David Norris: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Address by Dr. Mary Robinson (24 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I take great pleasure in welcoming Dr. Robinson back to the House. We were fellow scholars many years ago in Trinity College and I have followed her career with the greatest of admiration, as it evolved from membership of Dublin City Council to the Seanad to Aras an Uachtaráin and the Office of the UN High Commission for Human Rights. She then worked on a group that initially was supposed...

Seanad: Address by Dr. Mary Robinson (24 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I agree.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I share the concern expressed by Senator O'Brien about the absence of any person nominated to the position of Minister of State responsible for housing and tackling homelessness. That problem is deteriorating and there is no doubt there will be deaths again this winter as a result of homelessness, particularly if we have the severe weather we had last year. The Government's response has not...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2011)

David Norris: This goes back to the well known Murdoch cliché about sausages, in that people who like sausages might not like them quite so much if they saw the process by which they are made. That is very insulting to the public as there is an insinuation that the Murdoch media regards them as pigs, which can be disposed of and turned into sausages. There is a remarkable-----

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I am asking for a general examination of the media. An editorial from last weekend argues that it is improbable that the public's hunger for intrusive personal knowledge will diminish. That is exactly right and I am well aware of it. A couple of Sundays ago I was in my local newsagents and saw a woman coming hot from the church who bought a newspaper, the front page of which reported on a...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I ask the Leader to arrange a general debate on economic and financial matters. In the past, I criticised the previous Government for dithering. We now have a Government that has unprecedented control over every single organ and lever of Government and power, yet we have the same kind of dithering, which I find astonishing. The Taoiseach indicated he would address the nation. This would be...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I am asking for a debate on this. These are the most fundamental issues. The tragedy is that Washington and the Vatican intervened in a most significant experiment in Nicaragua, where a Government which was partly composed of Roman Catholic priests - idealistic people from the liberation theology movement - was trying to meld together elements of capitalism with incentives and the social...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Dec 2011)

David Norris: Could the Leader give us an update on the implementation of the European regulation concerning agency workers? I am concerned about this. I believe in fair treatment for all workers but this seems to be a bizarre situation where agency workers immediately get the same treatment as those who have been working for a considerable time. At a time of economic stringency, this is a rather...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2011)

David Norris: The Leader played a significant and constructive role on the debates on the defamation legislation. He will recall that the Government at that stage promised to introduce a privacy Bill to balance out the Defamation Bill. I am glad to note the Privacy Bill 2006 is No. 12 on the Order Paper. In light of the previous debates in which both the Leader and I took part, will the Leader inform...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Second Stage (6 Dec 2011)

David Norris: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I understand the necessity for gathering taxes. I assume that this tax goes to directly to local authorities to discharge their functions. I agree with the comments of some of my colleagues and they have made sensible points. I would have made them myself. One tends to be happier if one is charged for a specific service. I have never had any...