Results 301-320 of 418 for long speaker:Martin Conway

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Second Stage (24 Mar 2015)

Martin Conway: ...introduced many years ago. Governments right across the political divide are at fault in this regard. The situation in regard to guardianship and the law relating to it is outdated, but not for long. The legislation before the House reflects a new Ireland in which, as Senator Averil Power has rightly said, where there are different types of family units, and there are children in these...

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Farm Safety: Discussion (23 Mar 2015)

Martin Conway: That was a long time ago.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Farm Safety: Discussion (23 Mar 2015)

Martin Conway: I thank all the witnesses for their submissions. It has been a long day, but most informative. I am keen to get the views of agricultural contractors on a scrappage scheme. One theme that has percolated through many, if not all, the submissions is the idea that a scrappage scheme is desirable. Obviously, if that is to materialise, it would have to be done at budget time by the Minister...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Conveyancing Survey Results January 2015: Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers (11 Mar 2015)

Martin Conway: ...in two weeks electronically. Has the IPAV set up a working group with the Law Society in a formal way to progress the whole principle of e-conveyancing? I agree that two and a half years is too long.

Seanad: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (18 Feb 2015)

Martin Conway: ...be catching up. We should make virtual betting illegal. An online provider should not be allowed to create these fictitious hobby-horse, pretend races. We would all have a shopping list a mile long as regards what we could do with €30 million. I want to see in the lifetime of this Government an effective and appropriate gambling control Act and I have no doubt that under the...

Seanad: Mediation Services: Motion (4 Feb 2015)

Martin Conway: ...work of my own personal assistant and legal adviser, Ms Karen Dempsey, who has put much work into this motion to get the tone right and ensure it could be a sign to the Government that this has gone on long enough and we will use Private Members' time in the Seanad to debate the issue. There are thousands of people out there who could save vast amounts of money if mediation legislation...

Seanad: Mediation Services: Motion (4 Feb 2015)

Martin Conway: ...are regulated, and where rogue mediators and people who put the word "mediation" after their name even though they do have a sufficient and appropriate qualifications to be able to do so are taken out of the system. For too long we have had light touch regulation, be it in planning or in the supervision of architects and people who claimed to be architects having only completed a FÁS...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Feb 2015)

Martin Conway: ...that is on the table concerning the Heathrow slots involving the chambers of commerce. I have huge regard for the chambers of commerce in the country, particularly the Shannon chamber, which is a long-running chamber that does fantastic work. The Taoiseach addressed a luncheon organised by the Shannon chamber only a few months ago. Is it appropriate that the slots would be entrusted,...

Seanad: Direct Provision: Statements (22 Jan 2015)

Martin Conway: ...achieve things. Members of the Opposition - Fianna Fáil, Sinn Féin, Independent Members and others - are at one on the need for this problem to be resolved. I hope that 2015 will be the year in which we have a proper long-term, sustainable resolution to the problem of direct provision. I call on the Minister of State to initiate an amnesty for anyone who has been in direct...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

Martin Conway: ...and their entitlements when they reached retirement age. However, the trustees messed up and pensions were cut. I have no problem whatsoever if a pension or deferred pension is cut, so long as it is fair and equal to everybody. However, where somebody with a pension sees it reduced by 10% but a deferred pensioner sees a reduction of 60%, this is not what I espouse in politics, and I...

Seanad: Flood Management: Statements (27 Nov 2014)

Martin Conway: ...of flooding, start to address these problems and work our way down the list. We all remember the scenes broadcast on television on 3 January and 1 February depicting the destruction of many homes along the coast and the erosion by the sea of significant portions of the coastline. As the Minister of State noted, this was an event that only occurs once in a number of generations. It...

Seanad: Availability of Certain Medication: Statements (26 Nov 2014)

Martin Conway: ...this in an Adjournment matter a number of weeks ago and the response from the Minister then was the same as his speech today. Senator Darragh O'Brien has been campaigning on this issue for a long time because he has been contacted by people for whom this drug has worked. I was contacted by a lady who lives in Dublin who has received enormous relief from this drug. All we can do is rely...

Seanad: Commemoration Planning: Statements (13 Nov 2014)

Martin Conway: .... I have also spoken to other historians and have been contacted by the History Teachers' Association, which is deeply concerned about the diminution in the teaching of history. We can have a long-lasting impact with the commemoration. Obviously it will give us great meitheal and it will bring everyone together, but it will also have an effect in reigniting young people and getting the...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Nov 2014)

Martin Conway: ...report, but it has been sitting on the Minister's desk. I do not doubt her honour or integrity but, through circumstances outside her control, the lifetime of the Government might not be as long as we would like it to be. This issue needs to be addressed urgently.

Seanad: Joint Policing Committees: Motion (15 Oct 2014)

Martin Conway: It has gone on a little too long.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Mutual Assistance) (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Oct 2014)

Martin Conway: ...We are always very happy to take Bills in the Seanad and to facilitate getting good legislation over the line, given that the Dáil's schedule can sometimes be quite full. We are very happy to sit longer, if necessary, in order to take legislation, which is appropriate and beneficial. This legislation is extremely beneficial and important and gives effect to some decisions made at...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Drugs Payment Scheme Coverage (7 Oct 2014)

Martin Conway: ...disease very debilitating and compromising. My understanding is, however, that a new drug, Fampyra, gives incredible relief to sufferers, but it is not available as a prescribed medicine under the long-term illness scheme. My question is simple. Does the Minister have plans to provide this drug under the scheme for sufferers of multiple sclerosis to enhance the quality of their lives?

Seanad: Access to Educational and Other Opportunities for People with Disabilities: Motion (24 Sep 2014)

Martin Conway: ...drop out not because of SNAs or resource hours but because the important infrastructure is not in place. For example, they do not get books in braille, the technology is not in place, it takes too long for them to get audio tapes or there are no sign language interpreters when they are needed at lectures. As a result these people give up the ghost and fall out of education. For those...

Seanad: Betting (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (24 Sep 2014)

Martin Conway: I welcome the Minister and this very important legislation. It was an open goal that citizens and the country should have been scoring for a long time in terms of collecting money from online gambling. As has been pointed out, traditional bookie shops pay rates, taxes and everything else. Just because technology has advanced does not mean that the people who have embraced that technology -...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Voluntary Sector Funding (17 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: ...acquire it. Our colleague, the late Deputy Nicky McFadden, passed away last March as a result of motor neurone disease. I know a number of people who suffer from the disease, as well as several who are no longer with us because of it. I do not think any fair minded person wants to see a reduction of €88,000 because most people would acknowledge the work that the association does....