Results 1,961-1,980 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: While offering best wishes to those doing their examinations, I remind the House that the leaving certificate applied examinations are also taking place today. I mention this because a number of State bodies do not recognise this curriculum and there is a necessity to debate this issue. Every Member received a copy of the Order Paper in an envelope in his or her pigeon hole. I do not...

Seanad: Water Charges: Motion (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister on his first visit to the new Seanad. I am glad to see him here.

Seanad: Water Charges: Motion (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: That is not a point of order. It is a point of debate.

Seanad: Water Charges: Motion (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: That is not a point of order but the Senator will be able to make that point later. If there is no speaker from the group of Taoiseach's nominees or the university Independent group, the Senators from Sinn Féin may make their contribution. I believe the party will be moving an amendment.

Seanad: Water Charges: Motion (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: No interruptions, please.

Seanad: Water Charges: Motion (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Senators should address the Chair.

Seanad: Water Charges: Motion (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Unfortunately, because of a technicality, the Senator cannot move the amendment at this stage. It can only be moved after amendment No. 2 has been decided.

Seanad: Water Charges: Motion (8 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I had the opportunity to visit Chile some years ago. Anyone who wants to know something about conservation should consider the history of Easter Island. Every Member should do so, if only on the Internet for ten or 15 minutes. The island is so interesting. It had a very established civilisation 500 years ago but the inhabitants did not understand conservation. They cut down its trees for...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: It is an honour to follow those words of Senator McAleese. I will not touch on the words except what he said about "fresh thinking". I would love to instill the idea that this House can create fresh thinking. This is approximately the 70th anniversary of Dunkirk in Britain. Let us remember what happened in Dunkirk. The people of Britain were on their last legs and suddenly a degree of...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: On the point made by Senator Martin Conway, I know the sign in Ballyvaughan to which he referred, which is wonderful. Anybody who has not seen it should have a look at The Irish Times today which carries a great picture of it. I agree with the Senator. For 20 years or more there has been very serious concern along the east coast from County Down to County Wicklow about the Sellafield...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (15 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I have been a Member of this House for 18 years and do not remember ever having a husband and wife team in front of me. I congratulate the Acting Chairman, Senator Paul Bradford, on his position in the House. I also welcome his wife, the Minister of State, Deputy Lucinda Creighton.

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (15 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I am not sure how the Acting Chairman will contain the Minister of State if she is considered to be out of order and misbehaves.

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (15 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is most welcome. I welcome the objectives of the Bill, although I am concerned about some aspects of it. In 1989 I had the opportunity to visit Leningrad, then part of the old Soviet Union. I asked our guide, Ludmila, if I could visit a supermarket. The one to which I was taken was very dull and plain and did not offer a great range of goods. When I asked the...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (15 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share time with Senator John Crown.

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (15 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State and this debate. The concept is good but I have some reservations that it could mean that the Seanad could become a giant committee. We have to differentiate ourselves from a committee system. There is an obvious appetite for more engagement with the general public and that is what the motion is trying to achieve. In terms of this, perhaps a better way of...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (15 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I have only four minutes so I am going to keep going. On the other hand, the Australian Senate is wholly different and is probably the third most powerful upper house in the world. Its 76 members are elected by the same method used in the Seanad, namely the single transferable vote. However, as many have argued for, the vote is open to all adults and is not limited to politicians and...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Over 1,100 people will participate in the World Transplant Games, which begin in Gothenburg in Sweden tomorrow. Some 33 Irish recipients of body organ transplants will be involved in the games. I am sure we all wish them every success. I mention the games because almost three years ago, this House considered the Human Body Organs and Human Tissue Bill 2008, the objective of which was to...

Seanad: Fair Deal Nursing Home Scheme: Statements (Resumed) (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I would like to share my time with Senator Mullen.

Seanad: Fair Deal Nursing Home Scheme: Statements (Resumed) (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I thank the Minister of State for her words on this scheme and it was interesting to hear them. I did not know much about nursing homes, but my mother-in-law went into one last year. It was the last year of her life and she died last month at the age of 101 and a half years. We were counting half birthdays by that stage. While she was not involved in the fair deal scheme, I was impressed...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I was impressed by Senator Jim Walsh, who spoke from the heart about his concerns that if we do not manage to get our economy right we will implode. There is little doubt that to achieve this we must be competitive. We have not been competitive; we really lost the run of ourselves in recent years. I have told the story before of going to Dundalk and meeting two butchers who were losing...