Results 1,561-1,580 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I forgot to welcome the Minister of State earlier. The amendment proposes to include the wording, "shall have regard to the desirability of ensuring that operators of public bus services are not treated less favourably than operators of private bus services". I am happy to support this on condition that it would also ensure a provision that private bus operators would not be discriminated...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I have difficulty with paragraph 10(1)(a). I could agree to the passage of the section only if we deleted that paragraph. It requires the authority to consider the likely level of demand when licensing a new commercial transport service. I see no reason for a regulator of commercial services to consider whether or not there is sufficient demand for a service. This goes against the whole...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I will not repeat the remarks of Senators Cannon and O'Malley, but the spirit of the sections is not the correct thinking. It almost looks like we are trying to protect bus operators from one another. The essence of competition is to encourage new people into the market. While I understand the Minister of State's point, the wording of the section is over the top. I urge him to reconsider...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Committee Stage (6 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I will not pursue the matter at this stage, but I would like to be able to report back on Report Stage.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: As we listened to the radio and read the newspapers this morning, we were all concerned about events at Aer Lingus. According to the airline, it needs to employ fewer staff, is running short of cash and needs to eat into its cash reserves. The similarity between Aer Lingus and the nation is such that the same words could be used. We have a serious problem. Yesterday Senator Alex White...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: With the permission of the House, I wish to share time with Senator Norris.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (7 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I was so impressed to hear yesterday that life expectancy in Ireland is 80 years for children born today that I raised the matter on the Order of Business. Life expectancy in other parts of the world, for example, in southern Africa and Niger, is only 50 years. We have a much longer life expectancy. We are not top of the world - the Japanese are some years ahead of us - but we are nearly...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: On Monday afternoon two truckloads of TB-infected cattle were stolen in Keady and on the Castleblayney Road, just a few hundred metres inside the Border in Northern Ireland. They were to be taken to a designated meat plant for destruction by the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. I mention this because it reminds us of what occurred last year in the pig industry....

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I support the call for a regular debate on the economy. Yesterday it was reported in Brussels that the Irish Government had asked EUROSTAT, the European statistical body, to relax its rules on describing government debt. I will explain this. We have seen a tripling of the public debt in recent years. The Government has reportedly asked EUROSTAT not to treat the NAMA debt of perhaps €54...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister is very welcome. I am pleased that he is present for the debate.

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: No, I am not seconding it.

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I have a problem with it. I would be happy if it were accepted, but if we do, we should also include something that states the opposite also. The amendment states one "shall have regard to the desirability of ensuring that operators of public bus services are not treated less favourably than operators of private bus services". I am happy for that to be the case. I do not have a problem...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, to delete lines 33 to 38. The amendment proposes to delete the requirement under section 10 for the authority, in considering an application for the grant of a licence, to "take account of the demand or potential demand that exists for the public bus passenger services to which the application refers having regard to the needs of consumers and any existing...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I am sure to the Minister I sound like an out-and-out capitalist who has no interest in what is happening here. I am in favour of the Bill and I am attempting to improve it. There is regulation and a need for regulation. My father told me that, many years before I was around, when there was no regulation of the bus service in Dublin, battles went on for different bus services on the same...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2009)

Feargal Quinn: Last week I referred to the question of illicit cigarettes being imported into Ireland. The figures were startling as far as I was concerned but my attention has now been drawn to new figures. Today, PJ Carroll & Company Ltd announced some job losses but did not say that this was due to a reduction in consumption. Apparently there has been an increase in consumption of cigarettes, which we...

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

Feargal Quinn: When Tony Kett entered the House in 1997, I got to know him early on. We had something in common, namely, that we were both north siders and felt a little outside the south side background. We ended up with a community feeling. Tony's main achievement was that he was a doer. He wanted to get things done. He was not the sort of person who looked for publicity or wished to see his name in...

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

Feargal Quinn: I thank Senator Norris for allowing me to share time. Ní neart go chur le chéile. The best way to translate that is there is no strength without co-operation. I fully believe the benefits we have received from Europe are those we cherish, those we value and those we wish to maintain. I have been fairly active in European affairs in recent years, especially with EuroCommerce. Through...

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

Feargal Quinn: I realise the Senator would not have a problem with that. We do not hear it much but it seems to be a nasty word for anyone to declare themselves a federalist. I have met a number of senior people who believe in a federal Europe. The great benefit of the Lisbon treaty is that it avoids precisely this. It allows us the opportunity to have a more efficient Europe than would otherwise be the...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Nov 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I recently drew Senators' attention to a track and trace system for counterfeit medicines because it is important the House is aware of the system and its benefits. Yesterday, the European Medicines Agency drew to public attention the efforts being made by criminal gangs to cash in on the H1N1 pandemic by selling counterfeit anti-influenza vaccines over the Internet. This development is...

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

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share time with Senator Mullen. I welcome the Minister and I welcome his words. I regard myself as the only northern representative here. My mother came from County Armagh, my father came from County Down, they met in Dun Laoghaire and I was born in Dublin. Those who live far from the Border think of the North as a different country. I will exclude the Minister for Foreign...