Results 3,921-3,940 of 4,717 for speaker:Martin Mansergh

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: One sometimes hears reservations expressed about democracy in this State. There is a feeling that people ought to have a stake in the country or that the best people, however defined, have to be appointed. I am glad to say we have an egalitarian democracy and people from all walks of life and different levels of expertise can represent us on these bodies. I am very proud, as I believe most of...

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: Yes, some of the train services are very good also, although I accept that not all of them are. The vast majority of the organisations I mentioned made a major contribution to the economic life of the country and still do. One should judge governance by its results. Prisons were mentioned. There is a great prison reform programme in place, which will involve the building of new prisons. I...

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: Ministers make nominations from many different sources. Some appointments they make are on the recommendation of particular bodies or sectors. Therefore, all appointments are not at Ministers' discretion. It is important that appointees to boards broadly share the objectives of the Government and are of like mind with it. The Leader, when she was a Minister, had some difficulties with one...

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: ——with bonuses and dividends.

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: You were referring to people getting remuneration——

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: ——which is barely equivalent to the minimum wage.

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I will address the Chair. These people do not belong to any golden circle. In many cases, public sector governance compares remarkably well to private sector governance and, to be fair to Senator Ross, he sometimes makes this point in his Sunday Independent column. He is not uncritical of the private sector in that regard. Of course political affiliation should not be the sole or the main...

Seanad: Appointments to Semi-State Bodies: Motion. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: We all know many people who are constantly lobbying for State appointments and who are unsuccessful. One must have and should have qualifications. If there are examples in which this is not the case, attention should be drawn to them. On higher education, I had a meeting with some heads of universities recently and they told me the problem was not with the political appointees, because they...

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: They have never seen a broadsheet.

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister of State and his officials. I declare an interest in that my brother is a member of the planning profession, although he operates in a different county from that in which I live. Therefore, I hear the views of both sides, namely those of constituents and colleagues and those of planners. I am glad the heat of this debate has lessened considerably, thanks to...

Seanad: Draft Guidelines on Rural Housing: Statements. (10 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: ——political stroke or manoeuvre.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: Carabiniere.

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister and this important and enlightened legislation in which he is entitled to take some pride. It is a tribute and a positive reflection on the officials of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform who are sometimes unfairly impugned in this House. The Department has changed a great deal since the 1960s and 1970s. I had the privilege of working with many of its...

Seanad: Garda Síochána Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: A few specific points arise from reading the Bill. Obviously, section 7 is very important in that it provides an overall definition of the functions of the Garda Síochána. I query the wording of section 4 which provides that in performing its functions the Garda Síochána shall have regard to the importance of upholding human rights. Why does the section not provide simply that the Garda...

Seanad: Aer Lingus Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (3 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister to the House and I support the Bill. I think Senator Quinn used the wrong metaphor. When one is buying or spending, one can talk about the blank cheque but when one is selling, the blank cheque metaphor does not make sense. Air transport is of significant strategic importance to this country. Mr. Seán Lemass saw it as the most important innovation in his lifetime in...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion. (3 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I am very glad to have the opportunity to contribute to the debate on this motion and I congratulate the Progressive Democrats for tabling it. I declare an interest in that at least five members of my family are directly involved in university education while my father was a university professor for most of his life. I regard education as a Government and infrastructural priority which is...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion. (3 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I would even put it ahead of health. If one had to pick one key to our future, it would be education. We must be conscious that a debate is under way all over the western world, certainly in western Europe, on the funding of third level education. The point must be made before we discuss where we are that enormous progress has been made, particularly over the last 15 years. There has been a...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion. (3 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: It is a little bit like water charges, property taxes and so on. There may be a good theoretical case for introducing the various charges but the reality is we are a democracy and we have to pay attention to what the people want. It is clear the people want us to manage. They would take the view that they are paying for third level education largely through the tax system and they do not want...

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion. (3 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I take it that is support for the Tánaiste.

Seanad: Higher Education: Motion. (3 Mar 2004)

Martin Mansergh: Support for the Tánaiste for research would be——