Results 1,361-1,380 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2010)

Alex White: It is spectacular to suggest that public discourse and public trust in the institutions of the State, including the Government, would not be relevant to the Parliament. I am not seeking to stir it at all. In fact I am looking for the opposite, so that we do not have the sort of spectacle we had last week, where a resignation had to be dragged from a Minister, where people were sent on radio...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2010)

Alex White: It is a matter for the public. If it is not a matter for this House, then what is a matter for this House? I ask the Leader for a debate on the banks. Senator O'Toole seems to be in a better position to explain Government policy than the Government. He is right to say there is double speak and double think on this issue of credit. The principal basis upon which NAMA was advocated by the...

Seanad: Report of Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children: Statements (24 Feb 2010)

Alex White: I welcome the Minister of State on the occasion of the publication of this extremely important report which is founded on a high level of consensus across the political divide. I endorse the comments of my colleagues regarding the input of all parties into the report. In particular, I commend the Minister of State on his consistent engagement and regular attendance at committee meetings....

Seanad: Report of Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children: Statements (24 Feb 2010)

Alex White: I did not say that.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Mar 2010)

Alex White: I support Senator Fitzgerald's call for a debate on banking and, with her permission, second her proposed amendment to the Order of Business. We are about to see the first big test for the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, in the next few weeks in the context of what we have been reading in recent days about the hotel industry. Many Members on the Government benches were concerned...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Mar 2010)

Alex White: Will the Leader indicate what is proposed about the reports in the newspapers today that thousands of marriages conducted at embassies in Dublin have apparently been declared invalid? Will he indicate whether the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, or the relevant Minister, will respond to this extraordinary state of affairs, whereby hundreds of people who have lived in this...

Seanad: Irish Language: Statements (10 Mar 2010)

Alex White: Ar dtús, aontaím leis an méíd a bhí le rá ag Seanadóir Mooney. Caithfimid go léir níos mó iarracht a dhéanamh chun an Ghaeilge a úsáid sa Seanad agus lasmuigh den Oireachtas. Déanann an Seanadóir Walsh, atá sa Chathaoir faoi láthair, an-iarracht a Ghaeilge líofa a úsáid. Ba chóir dúinn go léir níos mó obair den chineál sin a dhéanamh. Cuirim fáilte roimh an...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Mar 2010)

Alex White: Of course it is ludicrous to suggest that the Minister should be held responsible for not opening particular letters or envelopes in Tallaght hospital. It is nonsensical to suggest it and to the extent that it has been suggested I do not agree with it. However, there is a real issue for political representatives. Because of all the changes that have occurred and the arrival of the HSE on...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage. (24 Mar 2010)

Alex White: I would like to share time with my colleague, Senator Norris.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage. (24 Mar 2010)

Alex White: Particularly in discussing the economy and our future I am all in favour of hope. We all want to have a debate characterised by hope in order that we can be genuinely positive and face the future in that vein. That is the basis upon which any of us would like to come to this debate. Certainly, there is need for a restoration of hope and confidence in the economy. However, my problem with...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage. (24 Mar 2010)

Alex White: I hear voices opposite again showing this wishful thinking as if one can talk it back into existence. Social partnership is at an end, as stated by the parties involved, not me. By its meaning, partnership requires people who want to work together while supporting, not undermining each other. It is simply not possible to talk social partnership back into being when one cuts the wages of...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Mar 2010)

Alex White: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: I have been notified that an amendment my party and I have tabled to the finance Bill has been ruled out of order because it involves a potential charge on the people. I accept this is in accordance with procedure and I will deal with the matter if I get an opportunity to do so when we come to debate the Bill. However, in the expectation that I will not get very far in expressing my...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: Will the Deputy Leader indicate why they have not been published? He indicated that he believed they should be published quickly when the former Senator de Búrca explosion occurred a few weeks ago. Will he indicate when they will be published and, if he cannot do so, the reason for the delay? We are informed by RTE that the Minister and the Attorney General have them. The Attorney...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: Will the Deputy Leader assist me on one aspect of what has been stated this morning, that is, planning permissions given by this body were considered non-compliant? That is the phrase used by RTE which did not inform us with what the agency was not compliant. I presume it meant the agency was not compliant with the planning code, as we understand it. If that is what is intended to be...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: One political party.

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: The Senator should check the voting record.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: I congratulate the Minister on her new appointment. Leaving politics aside, I do not agree with those who regard her appointment to the Department as a demotion.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: As the Minister is here, it is important that it be said-----

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Alex White: -----not just for the reasons articulated by the Minister. The arts, sport and tourism sectors are hugely important, not just to the economy but also to our sense of well-being and the future of the country. It is wrong for ill-informed commentators to regard the Department as a departure lounge. It diminishes and demeans the position and the office. With regard to the recommendation-----