Results 861-880 of 1,886 for speaker:Fergal Browne

Seanad: Company Closures. (16 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Martin, to the House. It is the first time I have been present in the House to welcome him as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. I wish him well in this tough job and hope he is proactive rather than reactionary. All politicians can make the mistake of being reactionary. I draw the Minister's attention to the need to secure replacement jobs arising...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: Rubbish.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: It goes back to 2001.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: It is a pity she did not listen the last time.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: The Senator is muddying the waters.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: The Government did not listen when we said this would not work. It got it totally wrong.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: It would have been constructive if the Government had taken our advice.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: I also call on the Tánaiste to come to the House. The Government is doubly rebuked. It should be remembered that the legislation was rushed and that this side of the House pointed out there were difficulties with it, but afterwards the Leader moved an earlier signature motion requesting the President to sign it into law more quickly than in the normal five-day period.

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: The President refused to do that and referred the Bill to the Supreme Court. I agree with Senator Tuffy that there is an element of theft in this issue. If a person filling in a form for an agricultural grant or a person claiming social welfare makes a slight mistake, he or she is penalised immediately. However, when the Government makes a mistake, it expects to get away with it by making an...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: Taxpayers and the elderly will pay. It is time we had a serious debate on this issue and I hope that this time the Government will listen. It was told all this in December but did not listen. Its arrogance got it nowhere. I welcome the decision by the GAA to discuss the opening up of Croke Park. That is an important issue. Everyone in the House is a sports fanatic. Perhaps the Minister for...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: It is daft that people are paying up to €1,200 for tickets for the Ireland-England game——

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: ——when there could be a double cost saving in Croke Park. It is time the Minister came to the House for a debate on sport.

Seanad: Mental Health Commission Annual Report 2003: Statements. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: I welcome the Minister and his officials to the House. I am amused to see the Minister's speech include phrases like "are now being considered", "should be developed in the future", "priority" and "commitment". The word "will" must be in the Minister's speech hundreds of times and much of the speech is aspirational. The Minister of State and his Department are in grave danger of becoming so...

Seanad: Mental Health Commission Annual Report 2003: Statements. (17 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: They did not support the Minister of State's senior colleague in her difficulty with the nursing homes. Perhaps they were saving their energy for this morning's debate. I look forward to their contributions.

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: I concur with most of the comments made by other Senators about the Northern peace process. I call on the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform to publish information available to him to remove any lingering public doubts. The public are cynical and sceptical and we need to remove any such thoughts from their minds. It is very important that we publish the facts and let the public...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: I support Senator White's call regarding historical documents which makes good sense. We should preserve historical State documents for public knowledge and scrutiny. Yesterday the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea, opened a new Michael Collins museum in Cork. This is long overdue and a welcome development. It is important we recognise famous historical figures who paid dearly with their...

Seanad: Nursing Home Charges: Statements. (23 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: I welcome the Tánaiste to the House and thank her for giving her opinion on the matter in hand. The phrase "collective responsibility" springs to mind. In 2002 the outgoing Government of the Progressive Democrats and Fianna Fáil rejoiced and proclaimed the great deeds they had achieved and what they would do after the general election. That approach has now been abandoned and the blame game...

Seanad: Nursing Home Charges: Statements. (23 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: That is the perception.

Seanad: Nursing Home Charges: Statements. (23 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: This is typical of Fianna Fáil; when there is trouble it muddies the waters and harks back to the past.

Seanad: Nursing Home Charges: Statements. (23 Feb 2005)

Fergal Browne: The Tánaiste is prejudging the outcome.