Results 1,121-1,140 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: No, it is not.

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: On behalf of the Labour Party I add my voice to the tributes paid to our colleague in Seanad Éireann, the late Senator Kett. Like Senator Quinn, although I tend to spend more time on the southside these days I too am a northsider and grew up in the area where Senator Kett lived. I welcome the members of his family and his friends and colleagues to the House for these tributes. The tribute...

Seanad: Business of Seanad (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I would like to contribute.

Seanad: European Union Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I welcome the passing of the Lisbon treaty by a large majority of 2 to 1, which was an excellent outcome. I congratulate the Minister of State and all the leading spokespersons who ran a much better campaign this time than on the previous occasion. The issues were ventilated more carefully and comprehensively, although the quality of debate, for which we all must take responsibility, on...

Seanad: European Union Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: It is not pretty. We have all had to examine European directives and other measures for different reasons. I have to struggle with them in another life. It is not exciting or entertaining and it is extremely difficult. We have bound ourselves to doing this work having passed the treaty. Senator Cummins is correct that we need to be better equipped. While I acknowledge these are tight...

Seanad: European Union Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: The issue to which I wish to refer also arose in the context of the 2007 Act. The Minister of State may be familiar with the position my party took on that occasion. I take this opportunity to reiterate that position. This matter may also have been raised during the debate on the Bill in the Lower House. My concern relates to the authority given to the Minister to specify indictable...

Seanad: European Union Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: Whereas the Bill does not bring about any particular change, it is certainly highly relevant. I am not, as has been suggested, merely seizing upon a convenient opportunity to bounce the ball again. My concern about this matter could not be more relevant to this section, particularly in the context of the Lisbon treaty. It is somewhat unsatisfactory for the Minister of State to merely...

Seanad: European Union Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I also thank the Minister of State and his officials for their attentive approach, as always, to the debate in the Seanad. As Senator Leyden observed, it is an important moment for the Seanad. It also is important for both the Oireachtas and the people, that this treaty finally has been passed and one hopes it will come into operation sooner rather than later. I agree with Senator Leyden's...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I never received an answer to my question some weeks ago as to when and why the decision was made to move from a policy of securing savings of €4 billion in public spending through a combination of €2.5 billion in spending cuts and €1.5 billion in taxation measures to a position where the entire €4 billion is apparently to be achieved by way of cuts alone. Senator Fitzgerald referred...

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I was shaking my head in disagreement.

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I would like to share time with Senator Bacik.

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Alex White: As I listened to Senator Boyle, it occurred to me that greater love for, or adherence to, a Government hath no man than to vote against a Bill he authored. That is the position the Senator finds himself in this evening. I have previously heard him try to spread the blame for this problem by saying that everybody has engaged in these practices since time immemorial. While I do not accept...

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Alex White: On a point of order, surely there is no such word as "agencification" in the English language.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I support the call by Senator Twomey for the debate next week to which he referred. I already raised the issue, as others have, on the Order of Business of the lamentable failure of the Government to take meaningful steps to engage, particularly with the trade union movement, in the context of what is currently happening. I have two concerns. One is that it may be too late at this stage,...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2009)

Alex White: If that was amended, would the Senator support it?

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2009)

Alex White: Just passing attention.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Business Plan: Statements (29 Oct 2009)

Alex White: I wish to share time with Senator Doherty.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Business Plan: Statements (29 Oct 2009)

Alex White: There is no point in, as Senator Boyle said, planning the future on the basis that we hope the public will gradually gain confidence in this process, which is a flawed basis for proceeding. Unless there is confidence in the taxpayers and the public committing themselves to what is proposed now, and unless that confidence is sought and achieved now, it will fundamentally undermine what is...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Nov 2009)

Alex White: I refer to next week's business dealing with the NAMA legislation. The Government has already made it clear publically that it intends to curtail debate in this House. It announced the legislation would return to the Dáil on Thursday week, 12 November. It has already made it very clear that the debate will finish here on Wednesday night. That will amount to the guts of three days' debate...

Seanad: Developments in Northern Ireland: Statements (3 Nov 2009)

Alex White: I wish to share time with Senator Pearse Doherty.