Results 321-340 of 1,954 for speaker:John Gilroy
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: It is a point of order.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: This Chamber could certainly do with having more female members because of the testosterone-fuelled cheers coming from the opposite side, which are only a display of machismo. I had a long chat this morning with Senator Byrne about this amendment. It is a decent attempt to reach some sort of compromise on the matter. I have put a lot of thought into this since we spoke this morning. While...
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: Absolutely. That is one of the questions.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: I understand that but we should not legislate to refer this to a constitutional convention because doing so would be interfering with the autonomy of the convention. We would be obliging it to consider something it may feel is not appropriate. The Senators opposite may shake their heads but my remarks comprise a genuine attempt to address the concerns that arise. If we want to start...
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: Will the Senator please show respect for the Chair?
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: The Senator has no respect for anything.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: Only by his own party.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: That is not what we said.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: You just want it for free.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: In a referendum.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: That does not affect the ownership of Irish Water.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: The Minister has said more than half a dozen times here that he accepts the good faith in which these arguments are made. It is very ungenerous, in particular, of my Sinn Féin colleagues, not to afford the same sincerity to the Minister. Senator Cullinane said it was easy for the Minister. It is not a bit easy for a Minister to come in here. This is the biggest mess that has happened...
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: I wish to comment on a point made by Senator Ó Murchú when he said the Minister sounded very idealistic. What is wrong with that? It is better than some of the old cynicism we are hearing from the lads over there. I am not referring to Senator Ó Murchú as being cynical, because I know he is not. However, plenty of his people are cynical.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: It is a thing to be praised, not criticised, and I apologise if I misinterpreted what the Senator said. Here in this House some time ago we voted in favour of holding a referendum. I voted in favour. I thought it was a good idea at the time. We discussed this matter long and hard in the Labour Party and with the Minister and his officials. Having explored the possibility of holding a...
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: I remember having conversations with many people in this House around Christmas before the referendum, and it was universally held by every speaker who contributed to the informal meeting in the ante-room that the Seanad was a cooked goose. Everyone was of that view, so who would have predicted that-----
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: I make the suggestion that if we did have a referendum and that referendum failed, the unintended consequences would be that some Government in the future might use that to achieve the exact objective we are trying to prevent and to argue that the Irish people have spoken in a referendum about public ownership of Irish Water and have rejected it, so the Irish people are obviously in favour of...
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin - God help us. Would there be anything left in the economy within 12 months if both of those parties were in power together? A referendum certainly seemed a good idea to me when we were voting here two months ago or six weeks ago. However, when we reflected on the intricacies and logistics of holding a referendum that would achieve the objective everyone...
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: Senator Cullinane knows everything.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: Of course, Senator Cullinane will be the Minister then.
- Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)
John Gilroy: The whole country is terrified of the prospect of Sinn Féin getting into government. There will be plenty of intimidation then.