Results 2,121-2,140 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Passports Bill 2007: Committee Stage (12 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I am not sure I understand. Can the Minister of State explain that in words I understand? I am sorry to show my ignorance.

Seanad: Passports Bill 2007: Committee Stage (12 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I am inclined to support the Minister of State in this instance at the risk of being regarded as right-wing or conservative. The word "might" is used in section 12(1)(c)(i), (ii) and (iv), whereas the word "would" is used in section 12(1)(c)(iii). This section gives the Government of the day the right to refuse a passport to a person who would be likely in the opinion of the Minister, after...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Is that what Senator MacSharry is saying?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister, Deputy O'Dea, to the House. Senators are given the opportunity on the day of the budget to debate it within minutes of it being delivered. I spoke in that debate on two previous occasions. Last year I spoke like a school examiner when I awarded the Minister marks for the budget and he earned a pass with the comment, "Could do better". This year he earned an honour,...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: The Leader has agreed to have a debate on Northern Ireland and I urge him to do so as soon as possible. This morning along with Senator Keaveney I attended the launch by the Minister for Education and Science of the book, Journal of Cross Border Studies in Ireland, published by the Centre for Cross Border Studies. The Minister spoke encouragingly about the amount of cross-Border work going...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I urge the Leader to encourage the Minister responsible — I am not sure who it is — to take the first steps to having that changed in Europe.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: The quarterly national household survey was published yesterday, and it contains good news. The number of people working in Ireland in the final quarter of 2007 was 66,800 greater than in the previous year. We do not hear these figures often enough. There is major success in the economy. Yes, there were drops in construction jobs, but more jobs were created in services. I suggest that...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I am impressed with these figures, which we do not often hear. I met with the US Secretary of Commerce last year, and he said that his responsibility was to create an environment in which entrepreneurs could create jobs. The reason I mention this is that the jobs being created in Ireland are coming from indigenous industries and services. While we have relied to a large extent on foreign...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Maybe Senator Norris does as well, but there are few of us. I call myself frugal or careful rather than mean. Finland decided when it joined the euro that it would not mint one-cent coins.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: This seems to make a great deal of sense. I say this against my wishes, but maybe we should consider doing the same. I would prefer if we would all value 1-cent pieces, but if we are not going to succeed in that, let us do as the Finns did and stop minting them.

Seanad: Passports Bill 2007: Second Stage (5 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State to the House who is getting very fond of us. I congratulate him on his explanation of the Bill. I proposed the passports for sale legislation some years ago and it was accepted in this House on Second Stage. The then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform went on to introduce his own Bill which incorporated what I was attempting to do. Senator Maurice...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Senator Kelly said he did not like the term "reskilling". I am convinced reskilling should be the essence of our education. We talk about education as not being there to teach people things but to teach them how to learn. We need lifelong learning and to be able to learn many new skills during our lifetime. Leaving school, believing one does not have to learn again, belongs to the past....

Seanad: Pharmaceutical Pricing: Statements (4 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share my time with Senator Ross. I welcome the Minister to the House and the explanations she has given on this issue. When I came into this House 15 years ago I decided that I would examine all proposed legislation from the customer's point of view. I want to look at the present problem from a slightly wider angle than we have become used to over the last few weeks. I am a fan of...

Seanad: Pharmaceutical Pricing: Statements (4 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I will stay.

Seanad: Fairtrade: Statements (4 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share time with Senators Norris and Mullen.

Seanad: Fairtrade: Statements (4 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I have been an enthusiast for Fairtrade ever since it started in 1996. Then I was honoured to be asked to go on board the SV Estelle when it came to Dublin to promote Bewley's first Fairtrade coffee. A certain ambiguity surrounds the term "fair trade". The Fairtrade movement, which spells it as one word, is the meaning that most people are more familiar with, given that it has operated...

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2008)

Feargal Quinn: Recent reports have criticised both Houses of the Oireachtas for not passing many laws and I do not believe many Bills have come to this House lately. I was surprised last week, therefore, to come across a survey of 49 countries by the University of Jerusalem that found Ireland regulated more than all the others. Ireland has 215 organisations with statutory powers and 52 bodies dedicated to...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2008)

Feargal Quinn: It was interesting that Senator Daly brought up the question of Fairtrade policy. Senator Norris said to me it must have been an association of ideas because the Cathaoirleach immediately called on Senator Coffey to speak after introducing the topic of Fairtrade. Coffee and Fairtrade naturally go together. We are having free Fairtrade coffee in both of the restaurants this morning. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2008)

Feargal Quinn: The Taoiseach also said that they will "succeed in doing what St. Patrick did not do by bringing the water all over Ireland, and every other nonsense". These are the very words someone in his position should avoid. If we are going to have a debate on the treaty it needs to be logical. People on both sides of the debate are concerned about making the right decision. A European in a senior...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2008)

Feargal Quinn: I attended a function this morning announcing eating disorder awareness week. It drew attention to the fact that eating disorders can be fatal if left unattended. Later on, I discovered a friend's sister, a woman of about 60 years of age, had died from anorexia nervosa yesterday. I had not realised the seriousness of this disease. I was not aware of our almost lack of attention to it....