Results 1,861-1,880 of 4,717 for speaker:Martin Mansergh

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: I join my colleagues in commending the church authorities, the Garda and the Government on successfully handling a difficult situation with the requisite combination of sensitivity and fairness. It was a little misleading to talk about there being a deal between the Church of Ireland and the refugees. Obviously, no church can commit the Government to actions that fall within the Government's...

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2005: Second Stage. (24 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister to the House and regard this Bill as enlightened labour legislation, continuing a tradition that goes back to 1946 and which includes the Industrial Relations Act of 1990 and health and safety legislation. It is major legislation, for which I congratulate the Minister. We all remember that in the late 1990s, in the full flush of the Celtic tiger economy, the economic...

Seanad: School Transport: Statements. (24 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the report presented by the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, outlining the improvements that have been possible to make to school buses. The school bus system is an essential everyday social service for thousands of children. To a point, one can only judge if it is an issue from the representations one receives. From my regular meetings with school principals in south Tipperary,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: I hold the obviously old-fashioned view in respect of policy functions, where exercised by Departments, that it is the Minister who should be held accountable and who should come and answer for them in the House, rather than taking to task groups of civil servants.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: A Minister is supposed to be in control of the policy function of his Department.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: The Senator should debate that point with the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: My second point is that I agree that urgent legislative action is required. However, other issues suggest it should not be rushed. Senator Maurice Hayes made a valid point about reports from the Law Reform Commission. The trouble is — and it applies in this particular instance — that sometimes its recommendations are substantially in advance of contemporary public and political opinion. I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: 1991.

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: It is mentioned on page four of the speech.

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: In paragraph four on page four the western rail corridor is mentioned.

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: It is not used at all.

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: Senator Bannon is not much given to understatement. He said the truth hurts but it tends to bounce harmlessly off him. However, I am glad his colleague, Senator Feighan, paid tribute to the efficacy of the community enterprise boards, which was one of the chief economic initiatives of the Longford Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds. I am glad Fine Gael paid tribute to it. The Minister referred to...

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: At least the commitment has been made. I remind the House that Deputy Quinn's 1997 budget, his last as Minister for Finance, did not provide a penny of Exchequer money for rail investment. Road improvements, such as the N17 and N18, are important. The Ennis bypass provides a connection to the region and other improvements made outside the region will also bring benefits. I recently attended...

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the emphasis put on education in the next national development plan. That attention is important and worthwhile in terms of investment. I have some sympathy with the claim that the south east is much like the north west in respect of certain matters. A solution to the problem of radiotherapy is being found in the south east but the problem remains for the north west. The Tánaiste...

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: Good man Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív.

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements. (30 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: At 10.30 a.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: Farming is still an important activity in this country. Our public service broadcaster should be asked, if necessary, to make sure that an adequate farming news service is supplied not only to farmers but also to those who depend downstream on farming activity in any way. There are several business news items in every news bulletin. It is not too much to ask that there should be one item of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 May 2006)

Martin Mansergh: Quite true.

Seanad: Health (Repayment Scheme) Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed). (7 Jun 2006)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister of State and the Bill, which seems to set up a model administrative system for the repayments. Undoubtedly there are some uncanny echoes in this episode, now going back a couple of years, of what happened last week, where the constitutionality of a provision that has been there for a long time was called into question. In politics, one cannot often be responsible for...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Jun 2006)

Martin Mansergh: The conduct of foreign policy and our relations with other countries often involves striking difficult balances, taking into account both our values and our interests. Striking that balance wrongly can have serious long-term consequences. With all due respect to the distinguished rapporteur of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, not to mention certain editorial writers, those...