Results 841-860 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Social Welfare Law Reform and Pensions Bill 2006: Second Stage. (21 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister to the House. We look forward to hearing his views each time he attends. Each year when this Bill comes before the House, I look at it slightly differently from others. I am influenced this year by a conversation I had in January with the Secretary of State for Labour in the United States, a bright young Asian woman, the first Asian woman to sit at the Cabinet table in...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I ask the Leader to draw the attention of the Minister for Foreign Affairs to the case of Abdul Rahman, about which I heard last night. Mr. Rahman is being tried this week in Kabul, Afghanistan, for converting from Islam to Christianity. Afghanistan has been rescued from the Taliban by international forces, particularly those of the US. Mr. Rahman could face the death penalty, which is being...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: On occasions in the past, Senator Ross has spoken about the need for this House and the Lower House to debate social partnership before such decisions are made. The example that Senator Morrissey has provided shows exactly what we should be doing. If the solution to coping with the large number of people who are not able to sit driving tests is outsourcing but it was determined not to go...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share my time with Senators Ross and Henry.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I examine Finance and other Bills to see whether we are taking the right direction for the long term. I had an interesting meal last month with Elaine Chao, the US Secretary of Labour. She is the first young Asian woman to sit in the US Cabinet. She said that her Department's objective is to create the environment where the private sector can create jobs because it was not the job of those in...

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: Only a small proportion of the population approaches pensionable age with provision for a proper pension in their declining years. Some months ago, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Brennan, flew a kite and suggested that it might be time to consider compulsory or mandatory pensions. However, that was shot down by various vested interests. I raised the subject last week again...

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I am very interested in what the Minister of State has had to say because that particular topic attracted everybody's attention. Does the Government have a position on this matter? That is the first time I have heard that an application has been made for a redundancy rebate. I would like to know if the Government has a position on it and, if so, what that position is.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I agree with the amendment entirely and I credit the Minister of State with finding a solution to this matter because it had been left in a little doubt.

Seanad: Employees (Provision of Information and Consultation) Bill 2005 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I do not always agree with Senator O'Toole but in this case I agree with his comments on social partnership through which a great deal has been achieved. Opinions on this differ, for example, in regard to the problem in France, Senator O'Toole said it could not happen here. That is not correct. There is a difference here but we must work hard because what happened in France could happen here....

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the new plan for agriculture and the agrifood industry. I wish it every success. I have had a bias for years, which is a concern that agriculture and food need to be divided. I have confidence in the current Minister who is showing us the future in this plan. I ran into trouble some years ago. In 1994, shortly after I entered the House, I...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: Senator Burke could not resist. He should hear the song. He has not heard me sing. The agrifood business must focus on serving the customer instead of trying to squeeze more and more supports from the State or Europe in defiance of marketplace needs. The words "competitiveness", "consumer focus" and "innovation", all buzz-words of this new approach, have been part of my songbook for many...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: It is correct. They now live under a——

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: Let us examine it.

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: When I was chairman of An Post 20 years ago, I was told the biggest threat to farmers would be a postal strike because the cheques would not be delivered.

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: Farmers now live in a regime where we pay them for being farmers and not for farming. On top of this guaranteed living, they also have the freedom to engage in market-related activity, if they so choose. Unlike most business people and entrepreneurs——

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: ——they can count on a fairly luxurious cushion to rest on if their business ventures fail. Their up side, if we are to believe this plan, is virtually unlimited. Their down side is extremely limited, because it is guaranteed by the State or Europe. This plan spells out the only viable future for the agrifood industry in Ireland. I have always believed the sector potentially has a bright...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: We are dutifully warbling together the same hymn. This should, by any standards, be a cause for celebration, as long as no one has to listen to me sing. Why, therefore, do I still harbour a nagging doubt about it all? Is it because I somehow question the ability of members of the farming sector to get off their armchairs and grasp this opportunity? I sincerely hope that is not the case.

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: After all, we have seen the Department of Agriculture and Food change before our very eyes. Is it too much to believe that the Department can bring its client farmers along with it in this total transformation? I wish the Minister and her Department well and I hope they will be able to lead this revolution to success. If they do, I will be the first to applaud, even if they do not applaud my...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Mar 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to add my voice to that of Senator Ormonde. She did a great job yesterday in arguing the case regarding European day, 10 May. There was a danger, which I believe has now passed, that this House would have been excluded. There is a great need to sell the benefits of Europe. Too often we hear criticism of Europe while we do not hear the benefits. European day will give us an opportunity...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 Apr 2006)

Feargal Quinn: I ask the Leader to consider having a debate on the Forfás report published today on Ireland's oil dependency, which is quite frightening. It points out that in 2004 we used 9 million tonnes of oil, double what was consumed in 1990. Ireland is the third largest user of oil per capita of the older EU states. This is worthy of debate and is a worthwhile subject for this House. Will the Leader...