Results 3,801-3,820 of 4,465 for speaker:Jim Walsh

Seanad: Budget Statement 2005: Motion. (7 Dec 2005)

Jim Walsh: Public sector wages need to be tightly controlled. If benchmarking is to recur, it should be related specifically to quantifiable productivity. There should also be some type of programme for the eradication of waste in general public expenditure. To echo everybody else who has spoken, I welcome the significant increases for all people in receipt of social welfare, particularly old-age...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Dec 2005)

Jim Walsh: There has been quite a discussion about trains this morning. I wish to raise a variation, that is, runaway trains. Will the Leader arrange for a debate early in the next session so Members can get an update on the progress of the various tribunals? I am prompted to ask for this debate by the reports today and the interview conducted yesterday with Deputy Lowry. He was eminently reasonable in...

Seanad: Transfer of Execution of Sentences Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (6 Dec 2005)

Jim Walsh: I join with other Senators in complimenting the Minister. We went through the Bill thoroughly in the past and the amendments that have been made are sensible. While I am sure that judicial discretion will deal with it, I have one slight reservation in that we are probably dealing with people who have absconded from serving sentences in the past. While every effort must be made to rehabilitate...

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Dec 2005)

Jim Walsh: I join other Senators in calling for a debate on the Competition Authority. The fact that a programme such as "Prime Time" can, through investigative journalism, secure documents which show collusion on anti-competitive practices and the Competition Authority, which has statutory powers, is unable to do so raises serious questions about the body. This relates not just to the motor industry...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: We had a debate on that here and many Members had different views from those of Senator Norris.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (23 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I join with Senators Brian Hayes and Ó Murchú in seeking a debate on Northern Ireland. Apart from the local government issue, other aspects can usefully be discussed at this stage. Advances have been made in recent months but the interplay between North and South, North-South bodies and interparliamentary co-operation are fundamental areas for discussion. The proposed changes to local...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I join with others in welcoming the cancellation of the rally in favour of Mr. Nally. In doing so, the House must be mindful of some of the underlying difficulties which gave rise to the circumstances of that case. We should have a debate on this issue. A contributory factor to not tackling this issue is the hypocrisy of political correctness, and I would like the debate to be on that...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: One-nil.

Seanad: Juvenile Offenders: Motion. (16 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I move amendment No. 1: To deleted all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following: "—recognises that the Children Act 2001 is a modern and progressive statute which provides a wide range of interventions for young offenders in line with its major principles of diversion, restorative justice and detention as a measure of last resort and: —commends the Government on the...

Seanad: Ferns Report: Statements (Resumed). (15 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: While much of the contents of the Ferns Report were in the public domain, particularly since the charges against Sean Fortune in the mid-1990s, it would be fair to say that, nonetheless, it makes shocking reading. It is a sad and sorry chapter in the history of the diocese of Ferns which was founded in 598. It is a diocese with a proud history. During the rebellion of 1798, many priests made...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: It is a good precedent. A report came before this House and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Rights on the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and other atrocities where there was a high suspicion of collusion by British security forces. Will the leaders examine that and bring a joint motion before this House calling on the House of Commons to pass a...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I support Senator Dardis in his call for a debate on Northern Ireland. That is the most appropriate way to discuss the issue of people on the run and of speaking rights in the Dáil. Much of the Good Friday Agreement has yet to be implemented including the interparliamentary co-operation it envisaged. While I have no difficulty with No. 2 on the Order of Business, why are we petitioning the...

Seanad: Registration of Wills Bill 2005: Second Stage. (9 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: Senators should make their contributions through the Chair.

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I concur with the calls for a debate on the implications of recent events pertaining to labour law, particularly the serious consequences which may have occurred with periwinkle pickers. This underscores a more serious problem of how immigrant workers can be integrated into the system while ensuring the competitiveness of industry on one hand, and fair treatment for both immigrant and...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I support Senator Brennan's comments regarding the decision of a number of local authorities to impose a planning condition requiring householders on private estates to establish a management committee, which results in charges of between €5,000 and €6,000 per annum. The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is checking whether there is a legal basis for this and...

Seanad: Railway Safety Bill 2001: Second Stage. (3 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: The Senator has one minute remaining.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I join those who have called for a debate on the recently announced new transport policy. It presents a vision that is necessary to meet the infrastructural deficit.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: I am not in the least surprised at the opposition from Fine Gael and, in particular, the Labour Party. I recall leading a deputation to Deputy Quinn 22 years ago in respect of building motorways——

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: ——between the major population centres. At that stage, members of the transport section of the European Commission acknowledged to me privately that the failure of the then Government was a very significant factor in the failure to implement the proposals. When Members on the other side of the House talk about waste, they should reflect for a moment on the period 1982 to 1987. In five...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Nov 2005)

Jim Walsh: May I also ask the Leader——