Results 3,821-3,840 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Dec 2005)

Brendan Ryan: It is nobody's problem.

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Dec 2005)

Brendan Ryan: He was referred to as the Bank of Ireland chief economist.

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Dec 2005)

Brendan Ryan: On Senator O'Toole's last point, Members will be glad to know Bank of Ireland spent most of yesterday apologising for its chief economist's aberrations on "Questions and Answers" on Monday night. A representative telephoned my party colleague to apologise to him and made it quite clear its chief economist was acting in a personal capacity and was not speaking on behalf of the bank. That was...

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Dec 2005)

Brendan Ryan: There is something very sinister going on. On the issue raised by Senator O'Toole, there is another issue, namely, the real fear among people on lower incomes that the high level of immigration, which is very welcome in principle, is resulting in some downward pressure on what are already low wages. Even though there are 100,000 extra people at work, we will find the Government's income tax...

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I do not often quibble with the content of Government amendments since they are usually daft but I sometimes become annoyed when people make factual claims that are unsustainable. I am not sure what the first two lines of the Government amendment mean. These state that "Government policy since 1998 on road safety has provided a framework for the delivery of reductions in road deaths on a...

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I assure the Minister of State that I did not drive while I was keeping my feet off the floor. I accept that vehicles are safe with regard to their engineering maintenance and care. There are greater numbers of roads today, which are safer than before. However, newspaper headlines from the last two days indicate that our driving is getting worse. According to an NRA survey relating to 2003,...

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: Like Senator MacSharry, I have a secretary paid for by the taxpayer. I then write to the companies which own the trucks in question. It would be invidious and improper to identify them but they are major distributors, some of which operate in the retail sector. I receive heartfelt letters from all of them assuring me their trucks are fitted with governors. However, my secretary recently...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: This is ridiculous. There is no other word to describe it. Nobody in this House knows what the Minister of State has just said and I am no less intelligent than anybody else in this House, nor am I less intelligent than the people who drafted these amendments or the Minister. I do not claim to be brighter than any of them but I have never in my life been in a situation like this before. I...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: This House has never held up legislation and it is extremely efficient at processing it. We do not cause delays. We wait and we ask. Most of the time in this House we are either waiting for the Dáil to finish legislation or for the Government to be ready to move with it. We do not hold up legislation either by inertia or deliberate intent and none of us is an innocent in politics. This is a...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I do not want to do this, but I do not agree with Senator Browne. Apart from anything else, I am married to a medical practitioner and if the Minister of State has a conflict of interest, so do I. Deputy Micheál Martin was before the House putting through an education Bill and he is a teacher. I do not accept Senator Browne's point. If I felt the Minister of State was representing...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: If it is still done I agree it should be included. Does the Minister of State agree that if this were done properly we could have had a far more enlightened and informed debate? I have no issue with what the Minister of State proposes. Changing a practice that has been done here and in most other countries for an extremely long time must be done in a comprehensible manner. If ever there is an...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: They will administer drugs.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: Perhaps I am the one with the conflict of interest. What about nurses not employed in the State sector? Erroneous prescription of drugs and adverse side effects are two reasons doctors or their professional indemnity insurers have had to pay substantial sums of money. If these mistakes are made by nurses not employed by the State and if they are to be covered by professional indemnity...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I do not wish to delay the House. I believe I am doing fairly well, considering the state of matters.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: It has been suggested that in many areas of delegated responsibilities, where the senior medical person is no longer the person who is professionally liable, there is widespread reluctance to use the delegated authority. People are aware they are open to major legal consequences. We must reassure professionals that as long as they act in an appropriate fashion, taking what peers determine to...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: On section 3, the word "secretary" is wide open to interpretation, unless the Minister of State can quote company or other legislation to the contrary. The word had a definite meaning at one point in time but it is strange to include it in this Bill. I have always objected to the use of the word when it arises in these types of circumstances because it is a term from another era.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I was not in the House for the Second Stage debate but I read the Minister of State's contributions carefully, both his introduction of the Bill and his reply to the debate. I ask him to explain the practical implications of section 4. As I understand it, the aim of the section is to transfer what were the functions of the Minister to the Irish Medicines Board, which seems like an eminently...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: Would that power still rest with the Minister or the Irish Medicines Board?

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: If that is the case, what difference will it make? It is always better for these decisions to be made by people who are somewhat detached from the maelstrom of politics. I accept that the medical jury is out on this issue but if there emerges significant medical evidence that heroin has palliative benefits or that cannabis is a suitable prescription for people with multiple sclerosis will...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I never claim to understand the logic by which Ministers make decisions. Many forces may be at work. I am trying to find out what difference this will make in practice. Is there to be a transfer of personnel from the Department of Health and Children to the Irish Medicines Board or are we simply legislating for the de facto situation that the board already makes recommendations to the Minister?