Results 9,021-9,040 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: It is what the previous Government signed up to.

Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The previous Government did not even know what it was signing up to.

Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: It is better than the old era.

Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Did you sleep through it?

Shannon LNG Project (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I thank the four Deputies for again giving me the opportunity to address Members of the House on this important issue. I have consistently welcomed the proposal by Shannon LNG to construct a liquefied natural gas, LNG, terminal near Ballylongford, County Kerry. Such a facility, together with the bringing onshore of Corrib gas, would provide important additional security in providing a gas...

Shannon LNG Project (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I thank the Deputies and I share their concern to grow employment in Kerry. However, Deputy Griffin is essentially asking me to ignore the statute, and the other Deputies seem to concur. Perhaps the House should take greater care when passing a law like this, but the House passed the law and Deputy Griffin is asking me to break the law. I cannot do that, but within the constraints imposed...

Written Answers — Telecommunications Services: Telecommunications Services (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Ireland's telecommunications market has been liberalised since 1999 and thus the delivery of broadband services is a matter, in the first instance, for private sector commercial operators who are licensed and regulated by the independent regulator, the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg). Decisions relating to the provision of broadband services in any particular area are...

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I thank the House for the invitation to speak on the important subject of media standards. It is a subject that, I am sure, is close to the heart of not just those in the public eye but of all citizens interested in the quality of public debate and the health of our democracy. Any modern democratic society needs an active, diverse and robust media sector - it is a fundamental component of...

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I am due in the other House but I will be back within 15 minutes.

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I thank all the Senators who contributed to this debate. I am left with the impression that we have revealed the tip of the iceberg. I expect Senators will want an opportunity to return to this subject in more depth. It may be the case that all we have done is touch the surface of the matter.

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I do not dispute what Senator Ó Murchú said. It is a truism that good news is not news, as Erskine Childers said. One has to accept that in this business. I accept what the Senator said about the excellence of public service broadcaster's coverage of last year's visits of the Queen of England and the President of the United States and last weekend's visit of the Chinese Vice Premier. I...

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The most serious thing I heard during the debate was Senator Norris's claim that those who take a stand on behalf of high standards in the media are being victimised. He suggested that the bullying of these people takes place at the hands of their own editors.

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: If that is happening, it is immensely regrettable. I should say, in defence of the remarks I delivered at the outset of this debate, that I was addressing the Irish situation.

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Apart from a glancing reference to them, I was not addressing the matters that are the subject of the Leveson inquiry. The matters in question ought to concern any public representative and any fair-minded citizen.

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I refer to the conduct of the Murdoch empire. Senator Norris alleges that the same thing is happening here.

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I have to say I consider myself reasonably alert to these issues. I rarely agree with much of what is written. None of us, especially those of us in government, agrees with it all. As Senator Crown said, in most cases I would defend the right of the serious content and criticism to be written. I do not accept what Senator Norris has said. I am open to being persuaded. I am open to...

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Some sections are certainly-----

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Some sections of the media are certainly guilty of misbehaviour. I do not doubt that.

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: What I am saying about what transpired at the Leveson inquiry is that I do not have any personal knowledge of similar circumstances here. Nobody has brought such circumstances to my attention. I am not making any naive vow of incredulity. I do not suggest that matters that have not yet come to light here are not happening. However, I really do not think it has sunk to the level it has...

Seanad: Media Standards: Statements, Questions and Answers (22 Feb 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: It would be a matter of concern if we had reached that stage. I recall meeting the senior management of the Independent News and Media group in the mid-1990s, when I served as Minister of State with responsibility for commerce. I also met some members of the board of the group, including its then deputy chairman, the late John Meagher. He said to me that as far as the Independent group of...