Results 221-228 of 228 for speaker:Déirdre de Búrca

Seanad: Access to Education: Motion (10 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House. I also welcome the opportunity to debate the Labour Party motion on the important issue of education, planning for it and the provision of primary school places. Our rapid population growth is a starting point for this debate. My constituency of Wicklow falls within the greater Dublin area and it had an increase of 10% in population between 2002 and...

Seanad: Coroners Bill 2007: Second Stage (4 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank him for his comprehensive overview of the Coroners Bill 2007. The Green Party welcomes this legislation because, as the Minister has pointed out, the legislative changes proposed within it represent a major reform of the law dealing with the investigation of deaths and the overall role of the coroner. The Bill will allow the coroner service,...

Seanad: Climate Protection Bill 2007: Second Stage (3 Oct 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome this Bill and the opportunity to discuss it. As a member of a political party that has taken the lead in pushing for real action on climate change, it is encouraging to see the issue being raised as a priority in the early weeks of the 23rd Seanad. I commend Senator Bacik on proposing the Bill. I welcome that the provisions in the legislation closely mirror the ambitious...

Seanad: Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (27 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on his election. I thank the Minister also for her overview of the Voluntary Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2007. As other speakers have said, this Bill is about changing the corporate status of the VHI. It is a rather technical Bill. The Green Party broadly supports its thrust but we see the Bill as significant in that it may be the necessary...

Seanad: Food Supplements (26 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to table this motion which concerns the food supplements directive 2002/46/EC. A decision by the European Commission is imminent on the setting of maximum permitted levels of food supplements available for open sale. When I speak of food supplements, currently it is the setting of maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals for sale on the...

Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion (26 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I welcome the Minister to the House and thank her for attending this important debate. The motion addresses the important issues of the delivery of cancer services throughout the country and the recently announced freeze on recruitment in the health service. The recruitment freeze raises a central question. What should be the optimal size of the health service and, in particular, what...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: I wish to take advantage of this opportunity to express my sincere condolences to the families of the two firemen who died so tragically this morning in Bray in the course of carrying out their duties. I am sure the rest of the House will join me in this. We have long had debates in the Bray area about the adequacy of our part-time fire service. It has been a live issue given the...

Seanad: Election of Cathaoirleach (13 Sep 2007)

Déirdre de Búrca: On behalf of myself, a newly elected Senator, and my colleague, Senator Dan Boyle, I congratulate Senator Moylan on his election to the position of Cathaoirleach of this 23rd Seanad. I do not know the Cathaoirleach personally but I have heard the tributes paid to him and people have spoken of his fairness. I look forward to working with him in this new Seanad. As others have said, this...