Results 20,161-20,180 of 20,768 for speaker:Mattie McGrath

Order of Business (10 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: The Tánaiste wishes to answer.

Order of Business (10 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: Just close it and say good luck.

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: I am glad to make a contribution on this Bill. It is stated in the objectives that this Bill tidies up old Acts, which have served us well but need to be tidied up. We need changes to modernise and to bring us to where we are in 2011. This country is far behind others in energy conservation. We have paid lip service to it over many years in spite of a number of fuel crises. I welcome the...

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: It was that announcement. Could I carry on now uninterrupted, if the Deputy does not mind?

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: I am.

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: I disagree with the way he announced it.

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: May I speak through the Chair?

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: The Deputy interrupts morning and evening, every time he is here.

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: The Deputy would get the award for being the best heckler this year.

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: He is continuously heckling every morning on the Order of Business and elsewhere.

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: It is time that the Ceann Comhairle was fair to people and reprimanded him. I am not criticising Deputy McConalogue who is doing his best. The Ceann Comhairle is showing a very unfair bias towards that side of the House. Whether he cannot hear or whatever, I do not know, but it is most unnerving when these Deputies are heckling. Deputy Buttimer and Deputy Durkan are past masters at it on...

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: He will.

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: Go raibh maith agat. I apologise for what I said about the Ceann Comhairle but when it continues it is not nice. We should respect each other's views and opinions here and be allowed to express them without fear or favour. We have all been equally elected to this Chamber and we do not have to be lectured by anybody else. The Minister, Deputy Hogan, made his announcement last week but I do...

Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: That is what he announced. We were dealing with a Bill that was brought before us by the last government. I would be the first to admit that we had problems with it. We were trying to amend it but this was certainly a bolt from the blue. The Bill also covers matters such as energy safety and energy theft, which are of vital importance for a number of reasons. Energy safety is paramount...

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: Question 187: To ask the Minister for Health his views on the fact that a medical card was issued to a family in County Tipperary who subsequently cancelled their health insurance, a week later the same family received a general practitioner visit card, this person then phoned the primary care reimbursement service to inquire about why they received a GP visit card when they had received a...

Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: This subject is very relevant, especially in view of topical issue raised by Deputy Catherine Murphy. It is a very important issue. While the Minister is doing his best, the policy of having two pillar banks, which was also the policy of the previous Government, is absurd. While we must save the banks and have functioning banks, having only two strikes a blow against competition. We know...

Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: I am delighted to speak on this Bill. While I welcome the changes proposed, they only tinker around the edges of what is required. The imposition of higher fines and the threat of imprisonment are not sufficiently substantial or anything like what is needed. The Government promised so much in so many areas that what is required in this respect might have gone under the radar. Considerable...

Rural Transport (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: Question 3: To ask the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport in view of the tighter road traffic legislation introduced recently and the lack of public transport facilities in rural areas, if he will ensure that the rural transport budget is safeguarded in Budget 2012; his views that there is unequal access to transport facilities in rural areas as opposed to towns and cities; his...

Rural Transport (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: I thank the Minister of State and wish him well in his new office. While I welcome parts of his reply, I am disappointed with the last part. The Minister of State admitted that he comes from a rural area similar to mine. Somebody needs to tie the elements of this together. We have the new legislation in the Road Traffic Act, rural isolation and the lack of transport. This is despite the...

Rural Transport (9 Nov 2011)

Mattie McGrath: I welcome the Minister of State's comments and I look forward to having an input into the consultations on the taxi service for rural areas. It is non-existent, as the Minister of State knows. Anybody who has a family in a rural area that might be ten miles from a town cannot get a taxi out until everybody in the town is dealt with and that leads to all types of problems. I hope the...