Results 3,241-3,260 of 4,717 for speaker:Martin Mansergh

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: I would like to address a single issue. Much of the undertone in the debate is that the very effective Northern Ireland model should operate here. That is open to debate but the way the argument to date has completely ignored significant cultural, historical and political differences between the North and the South. A large part of the community in the North did not, and does not, have...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: That is generally the practice in the judicial process. Quasi-judicial decisions are made by at least three persons rather than one.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage (Resumed). (29 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: Clearly these are extremely important sections. The situation we have in a democratic society is of vital importance. Do we have, as the Queen is alleged to have said across the water, powers at work in this country of which we know nothing, in other words, the security authorities operate, to a degree, independently of any control? I have certainly had the feeling in regard to some of the...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: I compliment the Constituency Commission on its work. The origins of the commission have been the subject of an exchange of articles in The Irish Times. It was greatly to the credit of Jack Lynch that the electoral commission was established. The various so-called gerrymanders, whether they involved Jim Tully or Kevin Boland, did nothing to add to respect for politics. The system provides for...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: It is an essential aid both for dealing with anti-social behaviour — for which it is badly required — and for dealing with serious crime. I have some reservations about the point on retention of material which is no doubt made for civil libertarian reasons. News reports today included coverage of a Garda investigation into a murder that occurred 32 years ago. In some cases events come to...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: The Minister is a lawyer.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: I warmly welcome this section and I endorse every word uttered by my colleague, Senator Jim Walsh. It seems that words such as "shameful" and "disgraceful" are liberally cast around the place. Communities throughout Ireland want CCTV cameras because they are one of the most important——

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: That is rubbish. The Senator should get indignant about a more worthwhile matter. CCTV is an important addition socially to the powers of the Garda Síochána.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: Why use words such as "shameful" and "disgraceful"?

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: It is better that it is introduced now than not introduced at all.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report Stage. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: I am glad ample time is being given in this House to consider Report Stage and the amendments. Having been a civil servant, I do not like generalised attacks on civil servants. There is no basis for the assertion that officials in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform somehow do not have respect for the Oireachtas and that they are anti-democratic in their ethos. That has never...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: Will Des Geraghty be a party to it?

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: I agree with the point that all major Government announcements should be debated properly in both Houses.

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: However, since the habit of launching economic plans like Building on Reality in 1984 to the assembled great and good in Iveagh House——

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: I would love to believe that Members of the Opposition if they were in Government would make all their announcements in the Houses. A further point——

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: Yes, on the Order of Business. Frankly, the Taoiseach answers far more questions than either of his two Fine Gael predecessors.

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: That is absolutely indisputable.

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: My final point is on the question of development aid. Unfortunately, the Fine Gael-Labour Party coalition was not able to achieve what it promised.

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: The Labour Party is making so many promises it does not have a hope of keeping them.

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jun 2005)

Martin Mansergh: I second the proposal for a debate on the EU plans for the sugar industry. I know decisions are not to be taken until November but this is a critical matter for this country. Brazil currently has 29% of world markets. The ACP countries, about which much concern has been expressed in this House in the past, are totally opposed to what is being proposed by the EU Commission. There is an...