Results 361-380 of 468 for speaker:Liam Fitzgerald

Seanad: Order of Business. (24 Jun 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: Does the Leader agree that for the first time an independent appeals procedure has been put in place and that schools which are vulnerable to losing minority subjects, such as those to which Senator Ulick Burke referred, can make such an appeal?

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: Nobody on the Opposition benches has had the magnanimity to do this but I welcome the decision by the Government, announced by the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Noel Dempsey, to target an additional €42 million at the disadvantaged— (Interruptions).

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: —with particular reference to access to third level education. I am disappointed with the response of both Fine Gael and Labour Party Senators because the acting leader of Fine Gael in the House referred to the debate as bogus.

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: Since when did the disadvantaged become a bogus entity and issues of disadvantage become irrelevant in the House? Does the word "bogus" refer to the fact that Opposition Senators tabled a one-liner, a cynical—

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: That is certainly bogus. The word reflects on those Senators. The response of Labour Party Senators during the education debate was a cynical effort to deflect attention from the fact that when the Labour Party abolished university fees in 1994, it raided primary and post-primary funds— (Interruptions).

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: I welcome the transition from Machiavelli's Student Prince to Milton's Paradise Lost by the leaders of the Opposition—

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: —-who now seem to be more preoccupied—

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: They are shifting the grounds of their argument every time they lose one.

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: I remind them that there was a sequel, Paradise Regained, but Senators should not hold their breath because one cannot regain what one has never had to lose.

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: Regarding the motion on Private Members' Business, our amendment is a clear statement of our commitment and conviction regarding approaches to third level education generally. We will be glad of the opportunity to contribute to the debate, no matter how much time the Leader gives us. We welcome any opportunity to contribute at whatever length of time the Leader affords us.

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: We will be glad to avail of an opportunity to state our position clearly and unambiguously.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following:

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: I hope, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, you are totting up all the fouls being committed so that I will get extra time, as did previous speakers. I have every confidence you are doing so.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: Thank you, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. You have my full confidence and I have yours. What is taking place is a fundamental review of student support services, including the very substantial investment by the Government in education, particularly at third level. It is totally in accord and consistent with An Agreed Programme for Government. It is stated unequivocally and unambiguously in the...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: We have spoken about a review of public spending. I find the attitude of Fine Gael extraordinary, a party that promulgated and constantly preached through the years about reviews, the just society and re-evaluation. I have been in the Houses of the Oireachtas more years than I want to admit and each year I was on a committee, no matter what area of public spending the committee dealt with,...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: We have different points of view, not just across the parties in Government but within parties, for which I make no apologies to anyone. This is a fundamental debate not just about the future of education, including third level education, but about the future for our country, based on surveys carried out on future skills needs over the next ten to 15 years, surveys carried out by eminent...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: They must have found a New Labour existence. They must have found strange happenings in the voter participation rates of the middle and upper classes. Perhaps it had nothing to do with those voting patterns. The free fees initiative contributed nothing to equity of access. It just gave a subsidy to the middle and upper classes and underpinned the elitist nature of third level education in the...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: I am not saying we must always agree with professors but this professor has yet to be challenged factually and statistically. Professor Skilbeck went on to say that he was not the least bit surprised that the initiative led to flooding the major universities with students from middle and upper income families.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: I am sure the Chair will give me the licence to refer, in the interests of democratic balance, to some of the glaring inconsistencies in the approaches of the Opposition parties. In an article written in 2001, the Fine Gael Party complained that despite free fees, one in ten students declined their CAO offer because their parents could not afford to send them to college. I have not yet spoken...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Liam Fitzgerald: There are serious issues in terms of equity and how to maximise the benefits of the huge investment Fianna Fáil has put into education since 1997.