Results 2,301-2,320 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: It is hard to follow the enthusiasm and success shown by Senator White. I congratulate her.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to discuss the case mentioned earlier of the President travelling to County Meath and congratulating the people there for the steps they took themselves without relying on the Government. Too often when a problem arises in an area someone forms a committee and then sends someone to Dublin to seek action from the Government. This is a real example of active citizenship. Active...

Seanad: Control of Exports Bill 2007: Committee Stage. (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I move amendment No. 1: In page 5, subsection (2)(b)(i), line 8, to delete "citizen" and substitute "resident". I welcome the Minister of State to the House. A short time has passed since Second Stage. My amendment is clear and I tabled it on Second Stage because of an anomaly, if not an absurdity, in section 3. Section 3(2) deals with the scope of the brokerage activities addressed in the...

Seanad: Control of Exports Bill 2007: Committee Stage. (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I thank the Minister of State for the clear intention and for the attention he has given to the proposal. I do not want to see legislation passed that is not enforceable. I now understand the difficulty as regards the terms "domiciled" and "resident", etc. It is perhaps too facile a solution to just change the words. However, there were just two objectives in what I was trying to achieve....

Seanad: Control of Exports Bill 2007: Committee Stage. (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: If we are going to pass legislation here, it should be possible to enforce it. I do not know how we can enforce it, in the first place, on a citizen who has not been here for years but still holds an Irish passport. I understand that point, but I leave it to the Minister of State to find the solution. The other matter that concerns me more is the fact that brokerage activities could be...

Seanad: Control of Exports Bill 2007: Committee Stage. (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: The objective of Amnesty International and Senator Coghlan in regard to this amendment is worthy. However, Senator Leyden has made a case challenging it. If such detailed information would be required for all exports, information which would be valuable to a competitor, it would generate a great deal of red tape. One of our objectives, and I know this is close to the Minister's heart, is...

Seanad: Control of Exports Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I congratulate the Minister of State and the officials for their work on this Bill, which as he said, is very comprehensive. It covers all the areas, but there are two aspects I would like to mention. Ireland should set its face against exporting arms in any form. That opinion does not come from our neutrality, as we have shown in the past that we are not neutral in good and bad. It would...

Seanad: Credit Union Savings Protection Bill 2007: Second Stage (1 Mar 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon. I particularly welcome this Bill. I have much pleasure in supporting it, and I commend my colleague, Senator O'Toole, on the work he has done in preparing it for and bringing it before the House. It is unusual for a Senator to do this. Not many Bills have come through from the floor of the House, and he deserves commendation. No doubt there...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: It is said the measure of a democracy is how a society looks after those who are unable to look after themselves and, from that point of view, we are open to severe criticism because of the lack of speech, language and occupational therapists. In future years, this period will be looked on as a disgrace because we have let ourselves down. Yesterday the Irish stock market lost €4 billion....

Seanad: Learning to Teach Report: Statements. (27 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, to the House. I also welcome the report and the opportunity to speak on it. Other speakers referred to whether they were teachers, but I was not a teacher until last year when I became an adjunct professor at the National University of Ireland, Galway. I have declared that I am a teacher, albeit not a secondary teacher. Last year, I was in...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I have recently had reason to visit twice the Passport Office on Molesworth Street and I congratulate the officials for a very efficient operation there. It was announced two or three years ago in Britain that passports could not be handed out to British citizens unless two months' notice was given because the technology was too much for its passport office. My only disappointment here was...

Seanad: Control of Exports Bill 2007: Second Stage (22 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I congratulate the Minister of State on his contribution. I particularly liked his strong commitment to arms control and global disarmament. There is little doubt a great deal of committed and sincere thought went into the drafting of the Minister of State's speech. Senator Leyden referred to the work done by the late Diana, Princess of Wales. I would like to think that we might be...

Seanad: Control of Exports Bill 2007: Second Stage (22 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share time with Senator Norris.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (22 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: There is a great deal of upset as a result of what happened last night. The vote was carried by 26 Members on one side against a much smaller number on the other. However, a substantial number of Senators were not informed that there would be a change to the Order of Business. I and some other Members spoke in both health debates yesterday. I left the House after listening to the...

Seanad: Mental Capacity and Guardianship Bill 2007: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I second the motion and welcome the concept of the Bill. It will update the legislation on incapacity. I appreciate Senator Henry asking me to second this motion because I had to study the subject. This opened my eyes to the work undertaken by the Law Reform Commission, which initiated many of the ideas in the Bill. I welcome Ms Patricia T. Rickard-Clarke, who is present in the...

Seanad: Health Service Reform: Statements (21 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I will take three minutes. I have only a few points to make.

Seanad: Health Service Reform: Statements (21 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: If Senator Leyden wants to come in at that stage, I am happy to accept.

Seanad: Health Service Reform: Statements (21 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: I know the Minister of State will probably not take his full ten minutes on that basis. When the Minister for Health and Children accepted the poisoned chalice of her ministry, she did so in the knowledge that it was not going to be an easy job. It was going to be a very tough job. I admire her for doing so and the help she has in her two junior Ministers. My point concerns value for...

Seanad: Electricity Regulation (Amendment) (Single Electricity Market) Bill 2006: Second Stage (21 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: How many Australians does it take to change a lamp bulb? The answer, according to the newspaper today, is every one of them. Yesterday, the Australians announced that the traditional lamp bulb, which has been used throughout the world for more than 125 years, will be outlawed in favour of the more effective and energy efficient lamp bulbs currently available. The traditional lamp bulb...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2007)

Feargal Quinn: We can gather by the tone of proceedings that an election is in the offing.