Results 3,941-3,960 of 4,773 for speaker:Paudie Coffey

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: He can backtrack all he wants.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: When he makes statements he has to stand over them. He made serious charges against the Irish Coursing Club and the Irish Greyhound Board.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: They already have identification.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister is missing the point completely.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: It is not all right. His argument would be fine if an identification regime was not already in place. That system goes back generations and greyhounds are subject to DNA profiling beyond any other breed. They also have tattooed ears and registration cards. If this regime was not in place I could understand the Minister's argument. Microchips are being introduced in the UK because of the...

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: If he did, he would listen to us. We still have time to address the issue and I appeal to him to reconsider his position.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: Is identification not in place?

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: We have heard from the animal liberation people with whom the Minister sat down in his office.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister is being picky with his facts.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I shall recap although we have spoken at length on this section. Many colleagues contributed their concerns about this section as currently drafted. On the previous occasion, Fine Gael proposed tabling an amendment to exempt operators of establishments registered to the Irish Greyhound Board because we believe there is adequate provision for regulation and control under the Greyhound Act...

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I thank the Minister, but I am most disappointed with the content of his response for reasons I will explain. He referred in detail to the 1958 Act, in particular the Title. It states the Act is to provide for the reconstitution of the Irish Coursing Club and its recognition as the controlling authority for the breeding and coursing of greyhounds. It is clear that the Act relates to the...

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I want to respond to some of the points made by the Minister.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister put some statistics on the record which I am entitled to challenge.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Minister claimed 10% of dogs seized are stray greyhounds.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: Yes. If they were not euthanised, does the Minister want them left to live in a kennel somewhere? The Irish Greyhound Board takes a responsible approach to how it manages greyhounds which are no longer racing. The board has refuted the Department's figures on stray dogs. In recent research it did with county council dog pounds, it found 151 greyhounds were put to sleep one year, which...

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: It is a red herring.

Seanad: Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I did not hear the view of the Minister on the definition of a bitch, which is fundamental to the question of what is considered a bitch in this Bill. In the draft version of the Bill it is described as four months. I would like to know if the Minister intends addressing the definitions. I am astonished to hear the reply of the Minister. We are now getting to the nub of the issue. We...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: The Government was warned.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: Same old story.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Mar 2010)

Paudie Coffey: I support the call for a debate on the banks. It appears we have been misled by the Taoiseach and the Minister for Finance. We were promised that credit would flow and that there would be dividends from the banks as a result of the State's investment to keep the banking structures going. A rise in mortgage rates is now on the horizon. We see also that many businesses are going to the...