Results 1,201-1,220 of 14,090 for speaker:Marc MacSharry

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Dec 2012)

Marc MacSharry: It holds the balance of power.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Dec 2012)

Marc MacSharry: It will be noted.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (13 Dec 2012)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister to the House and I am pleased to have an opportunity to make a few points. The Fianna Fáil Party supports the Bill, albeit with some reservations. We support the principles of risk equalisation, having commenced the process in which the Minister is engaged in 2010, and community solidarity, under which those who have the misfortune of being unwell are supported by...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (13 Dec 2012)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. As a member of the Oireachtas commission I wish to make a few brief points. First, the Bill before us is predominantly about funding the commission for the next number of years. I note that the figure of ¤324 million allocated under section 2 for funding is for the next three years. In case it is overlooked, the Minister of State mentioned...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Second Stage (18 Dec 2012)

Marc MacSharry: An attack on the most vulnerable.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2012)

Marc MacSharry: I wish to share time with Senator Averil Power.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2012)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister and I am glad to have the opportunity to make a few points. I have no intention of getting involved in the political scenario. As for what Fianna Fáil did when in government, in the immortal words of a very distinguished former Leader of the House, "that was then and this is now." The people adjudicated on that performance and we lost 58 seats. We must, therefore,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I thank the witnesses for their presentations. In a situation where there are only three perinatal psychiatrists available for the entire country, if my sister, wife, niece or neighbour, for example, presented to her GP stating that she was suicidal and wished to see one of the delegates, how long would it take before she, as a person living outside the main centres of population, would be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (9 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I thank Dr. Brady for his presentation. On the issue of Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, will he go into a little more detail once again for those of us who are non-legal minded as to how he would reconcile that with the view of the protection afforded to the unborn child under Article 40.3.3°?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (10 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome all of the witnesses and thank them for their presentations. In recent days we have heard medical opinion, and one issue many of us, including me, struggle with is that of suicide. The psychiatrists seem to be agreed on the fact that for every 100 suicides they predict, only three will materialise to actual suicide. This may mean that if we were to legislate, for every 100...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I agree very much with the sentiments expressed by previous speakers. A debate on sentencing is most important. When certain sentences are handed down, we can see that the Judiciary do not have the appropriate guidance or sufficient options to arrive at the outcomes that are clearly required in certain situations. We can see evidence of that this week. I support that call. I join with my...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: The Sunday Business Post has reported that the troika will say, "Sorry, all future employees need to be paid 80% of the salary". If the State cannot afford to pay its employees, if it cannot afford to pay the people in these Houses, then so be it. The level of public sector pay across the board needs to be reduced, to come down. However, do not say to our brightest and most intelligent and...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Airports (22 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I thank the Minister for taking the time to come into the House to deal with this issue. My Adjournment matter relates to Shannon Airport and the measures announced by the Government in the budget, as well as indications given throughout last year. My concern is that the State is unfairly promoting a policy to ensure the survival and growth of one airport potentially at the direct expense...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Airports (22 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I am simply using the complaint to the European Commission to raise awareness and highlight the fact that we must have proportionate support for Ireland West Airport Knock in the interests of that region performing to its potential and making a positive contribution to the national effort.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Airports (22 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I thank the Minister for taking the time out of his busy schedule to respond. The mistake being made in the context of the north-west region is that Ireland West Airport Knock is seen as a regional airport. If we could grasp the opportunity it presents in that region it could pay dividends for the State. I am not seeking a huge amount.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: State Airports (22 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I ask the Minister to take a strategic approach and make proportionate supports available to Ireland West Airport Knock and to view it as the international airport that it is, rather than a regional airport. This can be a contributor. I do not see it as an either-or issue. I am simply saying we must do something to acknowledge the strategic importance of Ireland West Airport Knock and what...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I ask the Leader for a debate, as soon as possible, on the report being launched today on suicide, which highlights the fact that the incidence among young people here and in Northern Ireland is directly related to austerity measures and the recession. The two nations with the biggest increase in the incidence of suicide are Greece and Ireland, where the increase has been very substantial....

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: We agree with the Order of Business. Can the Leader ask the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to attend the House for a debate on mental health? She has issued a statement on the matter. It is the seventh anniversary of the publication of A Vision for Change yet there is no current public plan to review the implementation of A Vision for Change. ...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I join with others in offering sympathies to the Henry family and, obviously, the family of Detective Garda Donohoe - there will be much debate about that in coming days. I would ask that, while I appreciate that my colleague, Senator Darragh O'Brien, has said that, given the seriousness of the crime perpetrated last week and the callous murder of Detective Garda Donohoe, this is not a day...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jan 2013)

Marc MacSharry: I will follow on from the request for a debate, and the concerns expressed by the Opposition Leader, Senator Darragh O'Brien, regarding the Department of Health's selection process for capital projects. I am unsettled by the suggestion that St. Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny and Wexford General Hospital were bumped up because of Departments trading favours and the hospitals' proximity to...