Results 1,381-1,400 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Radon Protection Measures: Statements (13 Nov 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey. He knows where I live, which is not far from his constituency. I did not know anything about radon, until some years ago when a new apartment block, which was built on the road not far from where I lived at the time had to be evacuated because of a radon scare. People were out of their homes for at least two years. I agree entirely with...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Senator Harris suggested we should be more positive. One particular piece of news in today's newspapers is very positive and full of opportunity, which is that Dublin has been selected to host the European city of science meeting in 2012. This will be a great opportunity. I know something about the chief scientific adviser to the Government who chaired a committee that put this together....

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2008)

Feargal Quinn: The British Government decision yesterday to reduce the VAT rate to encourage more spending will act as a further incentive for people south of the Border to travel north to buy goods affected by that VAT rate. The rate does not apply to basic foodstuffs. One company to which it applies and to which we lose much business is IKEA. It opened last year in Northern Ireland and I understand...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Nov 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I thank Senator Bacik. One of the points I was going to make related to human rights and now that Senator Bacik has done so, it takes the onus off me. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Curran, and the Bill. We should have had it a long time ago. Over the years, when confronted by a big bucket or box, I never knew how many cent from the €1 euro donated would go to the charity. When...

Seanad: Stem-Cell Research (Protection of Human Embryos) Bill 2008: Second Stage (26 Nov 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Stem-Cell Research (Protection of Human Embryos) Bill 2008: Second Stage (26 Nov 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I also welcome the Minister of State and in particular the Bill put forward by Senator Mullen because I believe it needs to be discussed. I will read, very briefly, from a letter I received by e-mail today from a neighbour: My son is quadriplegic, following a rugby accident in March 2004, when he was 19 years of age. He has shown remarkable strength of character since then, keeping his body...

Seanad: Shoppers Task Force: Motion (3 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Billy Kelleher, and our guests from County Cavan. I must declare an interest inasmuch as I started my first business in Dundalk, 10 km from the Border, in 1960. What a competitive marketplace it was then. It was no different than it is now. Sometimes, items were cheaper south of the Border, sometimes north of the Border. These were the days when...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I add my voice of congratulations to Senator Alex White on such an occasion. If he wears as well as the 50 year old motorway, he will do well.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I draw the attention of the House to the number of institutions in this country, including a number of hospitals, which have decided they will not display a crib this year. The reason they gave in the newspapers today is that they do not want to upset our non-Christian brethren. This is political correctness gone overboard.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: It is an issue to which we should draw attention to make sure we do not go too far with political correctness. Before we know where we are, Santa Claus will also be banned because he is a derivative of St. Nicholas and, clearly, if Christmas is to be banned, we should not have Santa Claus either. It is an issue to which we should draw attention. This morning I attended the launch in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Some weeks ago I referred to a letter I had received from a person whose wife had lost her eye when a number of teenagers threw eggs at her. That was an horrific occurrence. I had no idea that egg throwing would be a factor in the death of a father of one in the East Wall area in recent days. I accept Senator Ormonde's point to the effect that there is a need for people to take personal...

Seanad: Recall of Irish Pork and Bacon Products: Statements (10 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House, especially on this topic. I hope I do not repeat myself. I spoke on the radio this morning about my understanding of this. The example I gave was of an event that occurred approximately ten or 15 years ago in America where poison was placed in Tylenol, a highly successful product belonging to Johnson & Johnson. A threat was...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: After 5 p.m. yesterday, the Revenue Commissioners published directions on their website regarding how companies should handle the 1% income surcharge after 1 January. It is eight weeks since the budget's announcement in that regard and only about two working weeks are left to implementation of that measure. The instructions are directed at the payroll sections of software manufacturers....

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Last night, we held a short but good debate on that matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent. Considerable harm has been done to our export market, although not to a great extent to our home market. The majority of Irish people will have full confidence in the market. Some 33% of our pork products are exported. When I visited Brussels on Tuesday, it was clear that our pigmeat...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I will not spend time on this matter. We debated it last week and we are debating it again today. Senator Ó Murchú expressed very well his interest in and concerns about it. We are talking about amateur and recreational sports. Senator Norris pointed out very well that north of the Border, in the United Kingdom, they have found a formula that enables us to do this. We are also talking...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I will just add a few words because the issue was debated on Committee Stage. Some years ago a Bill went through the House with regard to directors of private and public companies. The point was made very clearly that sometimes there is great difficulty in getting someone to become a director of a company because of the inherent liability he or she could suffer. Whatever about commercial...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: My attention was drawn to a court case last week and I was horrified by the evidence given at it. The case involved a group of young men with purposely souped-up motor cars, some ten of them, racing on the M50 at speeds of up to 134 km/h. One of the drivers had an unwilling passenger, to the extent that her car had broken down and she accepted a lift from him, not knowing what would ensue....

Seanad: Gun Crime: Statements (18 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House. I was impressed by the concern expressed by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, and the moderate tone in which he spoke. We have a large problem with gun crime and the danger is we could bend over backwards in an attempt to solve it and still fail. One reason we have not been able to fight...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2008 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (19 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to the House. When I came into the House almost 16 years ago, I did not have much experience of how to look at a Bill. I had experience of being in business and looking after customers. I began to consider Bills as though I was dealing with a business, whether they were health Bills, education Bills or any other type of Bill. How would a...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2008 (Certified Money Bill): Committee and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, to the House. He was not here when I spoke about this issue on Second Stage. I do not want to repeat what I said earlier. When businesses hit tough times, they have to decide how to cut costs and take in more money. The choice faced by the Government at this time is not dissimilar. If one wants to take in more money, one must consider...