Results 2,921-2,940 of 6,046 for speaker:Frank Feighan

Seanad: Order of Business (10 May 2017)

Frank Feighan: I agree with Senator Reilly that we need to do more to encourage tourism in rural Ireland. In my town, many years before I went into politics, I was chairperson of Lough Key Forest Park action group. It is now one of the major tourist attractions in the country. At the time, when we brought the council on board with Coilte, everyone was concerned that Coilte would sell off this huge,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: I will be as brief as possible and I thank the Chairman for allowing me back in. We take our job seriously. We are law-makers. We want to ensure that law is good law. Any law that is rushed or any law for which both sides are not taken into account is bad law. We are trying to bring in laws that effectively help to save members of the public on the roads from drink-driving, but we have...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: It has been a very interesting discussion. The facts and figures are open to interpretation. The witnesses stated anecdotally that in rural areas like the one I come from there is less traffic on the roads at night. Years ago the traffic at night was coming from and going to the pubs but now there is more traffic in the mornings. Approximately six months ago I left a dinner dance in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: Yes and what are the witnesses' views on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: That is a fair comment.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: We have been talking about water and many other issues, but something that seems to have passed us by is that almost six weeks ago there was a very important election in Northern Ireland. Six weeks later we still have live issues such as the Irish language and dealing with the past. The parties still have not come to an arrangement. I have been told that the respect, goodwill and eagerness...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: What about Santa's Day?

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: And David Norris.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: On a point of order, I put down my name last Monday to speak on this.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: When one puts down his or her name and is first down, but then find that there is a delay-----

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (12 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: I thank Senators Lawless, Boyhan, McDowell and Craughwell for bringing this important Bill to the House today. I welcome my former colleague, Ms Imelda Henry, who did a great deal of work on this issue over many years. When I was growing up in Boyle, County Roscommon, there were 32 pubs. Like every town and village we grew up in a haze of alcohol. Our country would be a great deal better...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: I ask some Members to look at last weekend's Sunday Business Postin which Mr. Eamon Delaney from the Hibernia Forum wrote a very interesting article about Ireland and the Commonwealth. It reinforces my views that there is no better time than now to rejoin or else be an associate member of the Commonwealth of Nations. He went on to say that Éamon de Valera and Kevin O'Higgins were...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: I also join Senator Victor Boyhan in referring to the National Rehabilitation Hospital. It is disappointing to see beds being closed. However, there is also a good news story in that a 12-bed rehabilitation unit will be built at Roscommon County Hospital. The project is in the planning stages, but it will be a rehabilitation unit for the west. It will involve the decentralisation of a...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: I ask that we invite leaders of other countries or principalities to the Seanad. In that context, Ms Nicola Sturgeon has already addressed the House. We should invite other leaders to inform us of what is happening, their fears about Brexit and what they are doing about it. This would not undermine our negotiating stance and the Seanad could inform the representatives of the territories in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: The Minister brought foward this Bill nearly a month ago and I was probably the first politician who said it could be seen as anti-rural. I also said any measure that reduced the number of deaths on the roads was very welcome. I pointed out that in the Minister's constituency of Dublin South one could hail a taxi, take a bus or walk to the pub. In the town in which I live I cannot avail of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: I grew up at a time when drink-driving was acceptable. It was not frowned upon. I used to always remark that people gave up drink-driving not because they could kill themselves or somebody else but because they would lose their licence or their insurance would go up. We need legislation to address it. The Minister said that drink-driving is a major problem again. Based on what I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: General Scheme of Road Traffic (Fixed Penalty - Drink Driving) Bill 2017: Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport (5 Apr 2017)

Frank Feighan: Is it drink-driving or drug-driving? I just want to tease out the figures. Drug-driving is another ingredient that was not there 20 years ago. Is there another ingredient other than alcohol that we may be mixing up? I would have thought, and most of my contemporaries would have thought, that drink-driving was absolutely on the decrease and thankfully so.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2017)

Frank Feighan: Tell that to Deputy Paul Murphy.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2017)

Frank Feighan: At least the Senator left Fine Gael alone.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Mar 2017)

Frank Feighan: On a lighter note, my local soccer team, Boyle Celtic, has qualified to compete in the final four of the FAI Junior Cup and a song has been penned in its honour.