Results 3,261-3,280 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: It shows the extraordinary way in which the now almost-mythological tent at the Galway races, visited by the greatest——

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: One does not have to be there at all, Fianna Fáil just gets funded from it. The Galway branch of the party is now so disgusted it will not attend either but some people in the party are determined to continue with the practice. We know who turns up, including people who were required to pay €22.5 million in taxes of which they had defrauded this country.

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Let me go through what has been said. This is a simple Bill to prohibit the ripping off of young people buying houses. The Minister of State can put a long speech together but when one strips it down one realises it amounts to a statement to the effect that some builders from certain parts of the country, particularly Cork, discovered that they had, in a sellers' market, the capacity to make...

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Why were the Minister of State's officials dealing with the issue if it is not his business? It is either his business or it is not.

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: If it is voluntary, it is the Minister of State's business, and if it is legally based, it is not. Give us a break.

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: We know what is going on. The Minister of State is one of the nicest people I know but he is stuck in an impossible position whereby decisions are being taken over his head not to upset the CIF in a year in which fairly substantial funding will be needed by a substantial number of Fianna Fáil Ministers. Not long ago, a Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government addressed the...

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I am, I am just making an analogy. If many of the builders who pay €100,000 for a car were told by the garages from which they buy them that they would have to pay 90% of the cost up-front before getting them, which might take six months, they would tell them to get lost. The idea that they would have to order and pay for a car now and wait for its delivery would cause apoplexy among those...

Seanad: Housing (Stage Payments) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I did not say it was a comparison, I said it was an analogy. It illustrates how uniquely sensitive to the interests and considerations of the building industry Fianna Fáil has been, is and proposes to continue to be. I do not understand the position of its partners in Government, who are committed unequivocally to an economic model that involves genuine competition between people in a...

Seanad: A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland: Statements. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. Cé nach raibh mé i láthair, bhíos ag éisteacht leis. Moreover, I have examined his script thoroughly. Senator Glynn's last remarks regarding the extraordinary terror which cancer strikes into most people were spot on. I recall that my own late and much-loved father could never describe it as anything other than "the lad".

Seanad: A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland: Statements. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: While he never had cancer and did not die from the condition, it lurked in the background. Much of the fear relates to the time before the development of the palliative care and hospice movements which facilitated the realisation, organisation and delivery of the capacity to provide people with palliative care. Before then, horrendous stories were heard regarding the conditions of people in...

Seanad: A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland: Statements. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I had enough fun with Senator Mansergh for one day. I genuinely believe this raises an issue about how Departments do their business. They are not good at parallel thinking and planning. Will the Minister of State seriously consider this matter? I am disappointed at how limited our efforts on prevention are. I am not sure what current statistics are on young people smoking. From anecdotally...

Seanad: A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland: Statements. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I assure the Senator I am young enough and healthy enough to notice all of that, thanks be to God. Evidence suggests a certain level of smoking still occurs. We must consider everything. The idea that increasing the price of cigarettes too much encourages smuggling is a classic Department of Finance excuse. It is not to do with smuggling, it is to do with declining revenue. It is probable...

Seanad: A Strategy for Cancer Control in Ireland: Statements. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: If they do, it should be prohibited. Places with large numbers of people and public access should not have retail outlets which sell cigarettes. They should not be sold within a 100 yard radius of such places. Putting up every obstacle possible is the most effective action that can be taken. Regarding diagnosis, I fully accept the need for a limited number of centres of excellence and the...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I am glad we are making progress on this issue. At least the entanglement of the Oireachtas in foreign affairs is now accepted. I do not agree with Senator Brian Hayes on this issue although there is much merit to his argument. The solution is to create a UN structure whereby we can assume that we will only rarely have to draw on superpower status. Chances are that, within ten years, there...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: No.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Fianna Fáil promised a referendum without looking at it. Well done.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: This has been an interesting use of our time. By definition, all law can throw up anomalies. One only needs to recall recent events. When the Supreme Court ruled that Mr. A would be returned to prison, it declared that it would publish its reasons the following Thursday, but we are still waiting. That shows how complicated law is as the eminent judges of the Supreme Court are trying to find a...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: I apologise to the two ladies involved.

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: That is a matter for another day, but one can discuss the Judiciary, as many Supreme Court judges have told me. When I say at public meetings that we cannot discuss the Judiciary, the judges always ask why not and who said so. We cannot libel judges and we cannot attribute evil motives to them, but we are perfectly entitled to speak about their rulings. I have been involved in debates in...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages. (28 Jun 2006)

Brendan Ryan: Yes. There will always be anomalies in law, especially international law. In this case, I believe that the argument, due to the anomalies, lies in favour of the status quo.