Results 24,101-24,120 of 26,268 for speaker:Seán Ó Fearghaíl

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Dáil Reform (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I agree with what was said by the Chief Whip in The Irish Times in the past fortnight where he indicated that the lack of reform was deplorable on the part of the Government. I accept that when the Chief Whip and all the other Whips meet we can work out an agreement. We can come up with proposals. However, the Chief Whip is a creature of Government and the difficulty is that when he goes...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Dáil Reform (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: Committees will only be effective when, after their deliberations, some significant impact on the legislation that comes before them can be seen. If the public is aware that they are discussing legislation day in, day out for weeks on end but if, in effect, at the end of the day there is no amendments to the legislation, then one wonders what is the exercise about at all. It all comes back...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Dáil Reform (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: How many of those Bills have found their way into law?

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Dáil Reform (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: None.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Dáil Reform (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: It is hard to know where to start on this one. I will refrain from saying anything about the Seanad because we will have a debate on that in the course of the week. I have to admit that over a period there has been some active engagement between the Government Whip and the assistant Whip and the Labour Whip, Deputy Ó Snodaigh, Deputy Catherine Murphy and myself. I read some weeks ago...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Third Level Participation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: All Members are seriously concerned about the plight of those who are less privileged, those lower income categories to which Deputy Ó Snodaigh has referred. It is good that on occasions such as this, Members have an opportunity to discuss what are the real impacts of the changes on the education system. I commend the Minister of State on his acknowledgement that successive Governments...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Broadband Services Provision (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: This is not an area in which I am particularly expert but we all accept the interconnectivity between broadband availability and employment generation. Three things arise for me: price, speed and availability. These are matters of major concern, as has already been highlighted by Deputy Ó Snodaigh. Can the Minister of State give us an indication of how the plan announced by the...

Other Questions: Defence Forces Representation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: Nothing wrong with that.

Other Questions: Defence Forces Representation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I understand that the Permanent Defence Force Other Ranks Representative Association, PDFORRA, wrote to the Minister recently seeking associate membership of ICTU. In PDFORRA's correspondence, it points out that, with the Minister's permission, it has joined the Irish Conference of Professional Service Associations and has also been allowed to affiliate to the European Federation of...

Other Questions: Defence Forces Representation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I am aware that previous Ministers refused this request, but it is an anomaly and an anachronism that organisations such as PDFORRA cannot be represented to some extent in pay negotiations. The idea that they could be represented by their employer, who is their paymaster, is nonsensical. The loyalty, solidarity and support of the Defence Forces, as represented through PDFORRA and the...

Other Questions: EU Presidency Priorities (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: Obviously, the Minister's reply is comprehensive. Indeed, he made a number of interesting speeches in the course of the past six months which we all would do well to study in detail. I have two issues. The Minister made major mention of the importance of improving EU-UN relations. How would he indicate the progress he has achieved in that area? In the area of common security and defence...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Charities Regulation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I thank the Minister for his response and wish to raise two issues. I am a little concerned that the legislation to reform the Red Cross is delayed until next year. I believe the Minister is talking about its publication in what effectively will be the fourth year of the Government's term in office. It has been leapt over by the Defence Forces (Second World War Amnesty and Immunity) Bill,...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Charities Regulation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I do not suggest the Minister had anything to do with this. However, I suggest that if one does not know the reason the treasurer resigned and if it is the case that there is some continuing concern about the governance arrangements within the Red Cross, this should be of great concern to the Minister. The Chartered Accountants Regulatory Board was quite critical about the auditing of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Charities Regulation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I am talking about the resignation of the treasurer now and not about any other events.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Charities Regulation (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: 13. To ask the Minister for Defence his plans to reform the Red Cross; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29387/13]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Fatalities (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I thank the Minister for the apparent positivity of his response. I acknowledge that he takes a personal interest in this particularly sensitive matter. We are discussing an incident in which two members of the Air Corps, Cadet David Jevens and Capt. Derek Furniss, lost their lives. I do not in any way wish to add to the deep distress that the families of both men continue to experience....

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Fatalities (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: I pay tribute to the Secretary General of the Department, whom I understand has met the family on the Minister's behalf in an attempt to resolve the matter. However, far from the matter being resolved, the family continues to identify what it sees as serious problems with safety measures and the conduct of the various inquiries to which the Minister referred. I fear that if much more time...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Fatalities (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: 10. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will meet with the parents of a person (details supplied) to discuss their ongoing concerns regarding the circumstances surrounding the death of their son; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29386/13]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Physical Education (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: 132. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the proportion of the estimated 500,000 primary school pupils currently within the system that are availing of swimming lessons and instructions in water safety; if he will indicate the strategies his Department is using within the primary and indeed post primary system with a view to ensuring a high level of awareness of water safety; if he...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Departmental Strategies (18 Jun 2013)

Seán Ó Fearghaíl: 329. To ask the Minister for Environment, Community and Local Government the strategies his Department is currently employing to minimise the number of deaths by drowning in the State; if these strategies are regularly reviewed and if he will detail the outcome of the most recent review; if he will indicate the annual expenditure since March 2011 on promoting water safety and preventing...