Results 3,621-3,640 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Nov 2010)

Paudie Coffey: Senator Leyden had to apologise to Fintan O'Toole.

Seanad: National Housing Development Survey: Motion (10 Nov 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the opportunity to debate this important issue again. We must always consider the context of a debate and examine the reasons for being where we are. We have inherited a terrible legacy from the housing boom and the Celtic tiger economy. People have engaged in the blame game but we are right to seek accountability and to report on why it happened and who the main players were in...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (3 Nov 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Cathaoirleach and welcome the Minister of State to the House to discuss this important matter. As her background is in education, she will be only too aware of the importance of a comfortable physical environment for the teaching of children in schools. I raise this matter on behalf of all the stakeholders involved in Portlaw national school, County Waterford, including the...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (3 Nov 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I acknowledge the Minister of State's response but unfortunately I already was familiar with much of its content. The school is lucky to have teaching staff of the highest order who provide the best of education. However, the Minister of State's response acknowledged that this school has a band priority of 1.2. While I understand there is great competition for budgets and funding at...

Seanad: Hospital Services (27 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: This matter follows on from where Senator Cummins left off. There is great concern in the south east and at Waterford Regional Hospital that the status of the hospital is being undermined, not by political interference but by medical interference from professionals and consultants in other hospitals. They are undermining the HSE reconfiguration attempts since 2009. This is a cause for...

Seanad: Hospital Services (27 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I have an important question. The last line of the response of the Minister of State, where she comments that Waterford Regional Hospital will continue to be a vital component in the delivery of health services across the south east, does not go far enough. It should be the lead component. It is the regional hospital serving an entire region. It is not just a vital component, which is...

Seanad: National Housing Development Survey Report: Statements (27 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister of State to the House for this debate and thank him for his words which will give us some small solace in the property and housing market crisis. I acknowledge that a start has been made by the Government, the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and the local authorities to establish the exact number of unfinished estates and vacant units in...

Seanad: National Housing Development Survey Report: Statements (27 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: That will tell one about the policies of the Government and how they led to the property crash we are now experiencing.

Seanad: National Housing Development Survey Report: Statements (27 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: We have also heard members of the Green Party, in particular, engaging in the blame game and trying to blame councillors for excessive residential zoning. This is possibly the case, as there was a lot of zoning. I must state publicly, however, that zoning a patch of land or a field for residential use does not necessarily mean that that land will be given planning permission for building by...

Seanad: National Housing Development Survey Report: Statements (27 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister of State will get an opportunity to respond later, but those are the figures we are being given for those on the social housing lists, and if they are accurate, we need to address them. According to the Minister of State's figures, more than 58,000 units have planning permission but have not yet commenced. If those units commence, it will obviously affect the matching of...

Seanad: Radon Gas (19 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I welcome the Minister of State, who is here to reply to this matter, which relates to the dangers of radon gas. Radon is a radioactive gas which is present in the ground and which, when it rises above certain levels, is a threat to public health. It is colourless, odourless and tasteless. It can be in one's house and one will not realise it is present. The World Health Organisation has...

Seanad: Radon Gas (19 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Minister of State for the information and acknowledgement that the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has given a position statement to both the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, and the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley. There is a need for an effective strategy to deal with the problem. In Sweden, local...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: A lot done now but a lot more to do.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: A lot done and more to do.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: Consensus should be an area where bridges can be built and common themes found. It is disappointing to hear from the Government side nothing but divisiveness and personal attacks, which does nothing for building bridges and consensus. If we are genuine about this, there has to be a real engagement from the major party in Government - that is how it will be judged. It is only two short...

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The net result of the litany of waste relating to many State organisations such as the HSE is that services cannot be accessed by the most vulnerable who need them. An example of this is the fact that cystic fibrosis sufferers have been promised adequate facilities, on a national basis, to meet their needs. The Government and the HSE have consistently failed to meet those needs. It is a...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I move: That Seanad Éireann notes with concern: that Ireland has the fifth highest domestic electricity prices out of 31 countries in Europe, third highest when tax is excluded, and sixth highest electricity prices for business; that the impending PSO levy due this month will see household bills indiscriminately rise by 5% and small businesses paying €100 more on annual bills; and that the...

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister should tell that to those who are trying to pay their bills.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: We have the figures.

Seanad: Electricity Prices: Motion (6 Oct 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister is fantasizing again.