Results 1-20 of 190 for speaker:Mark Dearey

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2010)

Mark Dearey: I thank Senators for their kind words and warm welcome. I am surprised to see how many Members I have already met in various guises. I was in Senator Quinn's shop as a young boy with my mother and I served Senator Hannigan a libation. This has been a curious hour. I thank the Leader for his welcome and I thank you, a Chathaoirligh, for allowing me to say these few words. As Senators will...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2010)

Mark Dearey: Senators will forgive me if I do not deal head-on with the issues raised today. I thank the Taoiseach for his nomination, bearing Senator O'Toole's comments in mind, and I thank you again, a Chathaoirligh. I thank Senator Boyle for his hand-holding. This has been a difficult day but he has found the time to introduce me to the mechanisms and workings of the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Feb 2010)

Mark Dearey: I again thank Members for their kind remarks this morning. While I had expected all of that to finish yesterday, long may it continue. I wish to address the issue of the Border economy. I call for a debate on an assessment of the impact the small reduction in VAT has had to date. I acknowledge that I might be slightly previous in this regard as the figures may not yet be available but it...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2010)

Mark Dearey: I spoke briefly yesterday on the Border economy and I wish to return to the subject with a little more hope in my heart following the announcement that Warner Chilcott intend to establish 200 jobs in a new pharmaceutical facility at Mullagharlin, just outside Dundalk. It is a town with a proud manufacturing tradition that has reinvented itself a number of times from being a railway town to a...

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2010)

Mark Dearey: I am coming to this relatively fresh, which may not be a disadvantage. I can see the welfare issues involved and the danger that a 12 month period will be interpreted as a charter for the underbelly of the industry that we all abhor. Twelve months for some of these individuals is more than enough time to adapt. I have seen this is in other sectors along the Border over the years, so I...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: It is Senator Regan who is allowing himself to be distracted by the speculative news on the radio this morning.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: If he is going to take his lead from the latest radio broadcast he is the one who is being distracted from what are the issues of the day, which are jobs for the country.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: In regard to the issue of head shops, Senator Mullen asked if we are going far enough. He is right. We must address the cultural phenomenon these shops are creating. They are located on the main streets of our towns and are making drug taking, illicit or otherwise, seem like a mainstream activity. When it comes to enforcement the ban on substances is extremely welcome, and the Minister is...

Seanad: Job Creation: Statements (3 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary. It is nice to meet him. I was almost freaked out by the welcoming comments made to me last week, namely, that my background in business qualified me to be an expert in business. I will make it clear. In the overall economy I am a bottom feeder. I take product in, add value and sell it on. It takes me and nine others to do that and we are...

Seanad: Prohibition of Depleted Uranium Weapons Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: I am proud to be associated with the introduction of the Prohibition of Depleted Uranium Weapons Bill 2009. The nuclear industry has never given a convincing explanation as to how it deals with the waste generated in the production of electricity in nuclear power stations. Before the 22 February deadline for submissions on the proposed new build of nuclear plants in the United Kingdom, I...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: I support Senator McFadden's call for a debate on her neighbour's asylum status and the deportation order that has caused such great distress in her case. The debate could be widened to include the general issue of the way we are dealing with the backlog of applications. I understand legislation is on the way. It will not bring good news for all who are on the list but at least it will...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: At the very least it will create some clarity. I attended a recent forum in Dundalk with Deputy Ciarán Cuffe where we met with approximately 70 or 80 members of the African community in town, most of whom are in limbo, so to speak. They are aware that not all of them will get good news but they want some clarity and dignity in the way their cases are being handled. That is in short supply...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: We need the whole story in this case and not part of the story.

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: As a vintner I can reflect on the Intoxicating Liquor Act. To take Senator Bacik's argument to its natural conclusion, it seems we should also be open on Christmas Day. I, for one, would not like to ask my staff to come in on Christmas Day. We must modulate the argument and the discussion should not take place in the context of a sporting event. The confluence of sport and alcohol is most...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: It is a debate we should have but not in terms of maximising the value of a sporting event. I agree with Senator Norris as it would be disruptive to a day I enjoy as quiet and meditative. That is my choice. I am of the view that the event in question will impinge on that choice. It is worth engaging in a debate on this matter. However, it is most unfortunate that it will take place in...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: I also look forward to a debate on the HSE in which, given the absence of a political presence in health management, I will be able to ask questions about my community hospital, Louth County Hospital, and the justification for its proposed downgrading. I also join Senator Callely but ask that the European Parliament regions to which he referred should include a cross-Border dimension as...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (24 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: I ask the Leader for a debate on dissident republican violence. A man was murdered in my home town on Sunday evening while visiting a friend. There is talk that it may have been an internecine attack. Be that as it may, we know what such attacks lead to when people involved in the drugs war start to attack each other. Innocents are caught up in it, which is precisely what will happen if...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage. (24 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: That is unparliamentary language.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage. (24 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: I listened with great interest to the Minister's speech and, as a relative newcomer, I found it fascinating to see how policy finds its way through the Houses and, eventually, affects the likes of myself in my other life as a small businessman. Various bells went off in my head as I listened to the debate on the Finance Bill and tried to assimilate how it would work in the real economy and...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Mar 2010)

Mark Dearey: Any one of the three major stories breaking today would have made it a red letter day. To have three in the one day is truly an indication of the type of flux with which we are living in political and economic terms. It behoves everyone to keep one's head, not least the administrator appointed to Quinn Insurance, the commentariat on the Croke Park deal to be put to the union membership and...