Results 2,321-2,340 of 4,717 for speaker:Martin Mansergh

Seanad: Education System: Motion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: The level of spending on building and improvement is far beyond what was possible in the past. There is much more to do, at least as much in the next five years as there was in the past five, and we are aware of many things that need to be done. One political point of debate, with the unions as much as the Opposition, is whether emphasis should be placed on reducing the pupil-teacher ratio...

Seanad: Education System: Motion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: A teacher told me she wished the Government would impose natural family planning because she needed to fill her junior infants class. She would have no trouble filling the class today. I quoted the European social survey, a good external reality check, on the Order of Business and will quote from it again now. It is a comparative benchmark of facilities in the local area, giving the...

Seanad: Education System: Motion (Resumed) (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: Ireland comes high on the list, sixth out of 27, with 78% finding facilities satisfactory. Cyprus, Belgium, Finland are higher but the majority of countries are lower. The UK, our nearest neighbour, is at 62%, suggesting that we are not doing everything wrong. One of the good aspects of the Irish education system is that we pay our teachers a decent wage and give them social respect. It...

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: It is not the highest.

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: The Senator is inviting interruptions.

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: He would not be invited.

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: Will come back.

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: I am not sure under what Standing Order injury time exists. I compliment Senator Ross on a statement worthy of Sir Boyle Roche, namely, that the Minister cannot bind his predecessors. Indeed, he cannot. I welcome the Minister and the Bill and congratulate him on the implementation of Transport 21. We all accept that over 30 or 40 years, there have been many road and other transport plans...

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: ——and, second, one would clog up at all sorts of other pressure points. There has been a single point of tolling since the M50 opened in or around 1990 so I do not see any lack of credibility or any reason it should not continue that way. The truth of the matter is that, ideally, one should not have tolling at all on urban motorways. It is not in place around Paris, for example, but we...

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: On a point of information——

Seanad: Roads Bill 2007 [Seanad]: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: ——the British-Irish Interparliamentary Body, which met this week, is considering making penalty points applicable across the United Kingdom and Ireland and perhaps it should be allowed do the same with regard to tolls.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: In the understandable absence this morning of Senators from north Tipperary because of the circumstances, I would like to say that our hearts go out to the workers in Procter & Gamble in Nenagh. If industrial jobs can be brought, as they were, to Cashel last autumn, they can be also brought to a town like Nenagh. It is not accurate to describe full employment as applying to every provincial...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: The Opposition Senators do not like the facts. In 2001 and 2002 the Labour Party suggested that the introduction of the single tax should be deferred.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: I would be very happy to have a debate on competitiveness because I do not think we should paint it in too gloomy colours. I wish to raise a second point. I was concerned at the misrepresentation of an aspect of proceedings in this House in a newspaper column in recent days about the Taoiseach's initiative, which we all welcome, about meetings with the churches. It was stated that it was...

Seanad: Building Control Bill 2005: Second Stage (6 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: I am disappointed by the lack of historical imagination shown by some speakers. People have no idea how ancient civilisations were organised if they believe the wonders of the ancient world, such as the pyramids or the hanging gardens of Babylon were jerry-built by people without qualifications. Just because we cannot decipher the hieroglyphs or the library of Alexandria has been lost does...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: It is 62%.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: I do.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: We would need an economic policy debate virtually every week if we were to take account of new statistics and European and international benchmarking, one piece of which was just been mentioned by Senator Ulick Burke. Myth number one, which is more in the media than in the political system, is that the only reason we have full employment is that we have been stuffing the public service. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: Another myth is de-industrialisation. Manufacturing output increased by 5% last year and industrial employment is rising not falling. A narrowing of regional disparity is taking place.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2007)

Martin Mansergh: The disposal income in the west is higher than in the south east. Despite the lack of site visits by the Industrial Development Authority to north Tipperary, the disposal income is higher there than in south Tipperary.