Results 121-140 of 228 for speaker:Déirdre de Búrca

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: The position will not change.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: There are a limited——

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: We cannot allow something like this to pass. That message is being sent to Irish farmers and Mr. Gerry Adams, the president of Sinn Féin, said it at a meeting of the National Forum on Europe last week. It is wrong and it should not be repeated. If Irish farmers vote for the Lisbon treaty, it will not change the negotiating position of Ireland——

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——or any veto because no veto exists at present.

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his presentation. I welcome the opportunity to discuss the issue of rural development. When we talk about rural development, it is clear that the economic and social development of rural communities must involve much more than what was perhaps the more traditional model of direct assistance to farm families. Some of the dangers of this...

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: That is not the case.

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: He has made it very clear that the roll-out of broadband——

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: The Minister will be appearing before the House shortly and if the Senator wants to take it up with him, he is perfectly entitled to do so.

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: The Minister has committed himself to the roll-out of broadband during this——

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——term of Government, especially in rural areas. We recognise this as important.

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: The current programme for Government commits to doubling the funding for the CLÁR programme to enable rural infrastructure deficits to be tackled, and also to establish community and development agencies as one-stop-shops for advice on grant support, business opportunities, training and development and the management of grant spending under the new EU fund for rural development. The...

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——will only ever have a limited impact on outcomes in rural areas because most of the policy outcomes result from non-rural Government policy. A recommendation for dealing with this is rural proofing. In the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany and Finland, mechanisms have been developed to ensure general Government policy is rural proofed. In Ireland, while we began to develop rural...

Seanad: Rural Development: Statements (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: ——especially with the emphasis we are placing now on rural development? We should consider introducing a rural services Bill that will introduce a system of measurement in respect of access to services in rural areas. This would cater for the examination of post offices and other such services and their availability in rural areas.

Seanad: Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007: Second Stage (14 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: Tá brón orm freisin nach mbeidh mé in ann an Bille seo a phlé trí Ghaeilge. Ba mhaith liom go mbeadh mo chuid Gaeilge maith go leor chun é sin a dhéanamh ach níl sé. Mar sin de, caithfidh mé é a phlé as Béarla. Unfortunately I do not feel my Irish is sufficiently proficient to discuss this Bill. However, Des Bishop visited the Houses of the Oireachtas today and showed us all...

Seanad: Tragedy in Burma: Statements (20 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Like my colleague, Senator Boyle, I wish to express my party's concern at the aftermath of Cyclone Nargis in Burma. An estimated 128,000 people are dead and a further 1.5 million are at risk of disease and starvation. The international community is having difficulty providing the type of aid which countries subject to natural disasters such as...

Seanad: HSE Child Welfare and Protection Services: Statements (21 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State and congratulate him on his promotion. It is not an enviable task. The "Prime Time Investigates" programme has concentrated much public attention on the Minister of State's area of responsibility and that is the context in which this debate is taking place. It is always important not to respond in a reactive way to media-generated headlines but many of the...

Seanad: Broadcasting Bill 2008: Second Stage (22 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and am glad of the opportunity to discuss the Broadcasting Bill 2008. This is very significant legislation and I congratulate the Minister on producing it within the first year of assuming his portfolio. The Bill seeks to revise the law relating to broadcasting services and content generally and repeals all the existing broadcasting content legislation....

Seanad: Order of Business (27 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: Will the Leader invite the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the House to address the issue of planning enforcement? I raise this because there is a report in the national newspapers today on a case in County Wicklow involving an unauthorised development beside the N11. It has been unauthorised for many years and is to be the subject of a material contravention...

Seanad: Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse Act 2000: Statements (28 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and the opportunity to approve the motion to extend for a further eight months the investigative period of the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse. This debate is taking place because it is necessary under the Act for both Houses of the Oireachtas to approve the order to extend the commission's term. While the Green Party is happy to do so, the...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion (28 May 2008)

Déirdre de Búrca: As I was not aware I was sharing time, I will have to pare back what I intended to say. It is difficult to make a meaningful contribution to a debate on the health services in four minutes. However, I will do my best. I welcome the opportunity to debate the Labour Party's motion. It is a welcome motion because it reflects most aspects of the public's concern about the Health Service...