Results 4,081-4,100 of 4,717 for speaker:Martin Mansergh

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jan 2004)

Martin Mansergh: With regard to Senator Bohan's contribution on Carrickmines Castle, I find it significant that there is no reference to it in Peter Harbison's Guide to the National Monuments in the Republic of Ireland. There is not even a reference to it in John O'Donovan's collection Ordnance Survey Letters of the 19th century. There are hundreds of castles and abbeys in this country that would greatly...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Second Stage. (27 Jan 2004)

Martin Mansergh: This is an important Bill, which reflects the work of an energetic and reforming Minister who is anxious to get things done. Senator Ulick Burke is a little paranoid about the Minister's attitude to local authorities. Section 2(1)(i) states "'water services authority' means a County Council or a City Council as defined in the Act of 2001." So it is not creating some other type of authority.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2003: Second Stage. (27 Jan 2004)

Martin Mansergh: The fact that the preparation of these plans will be an executive function does not mean it will not be done, as happens in most places, in close consultation with elected representatives. I share in the tributes that have been paid to the prowess of Victorian engineers who pioneered the provision of water and sewage treatment. All such facilities need to be renewed. Tributes are also due to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Jan 2004)

Martin Mansergh: I support Senator Higgins in his call for a debate on inflation, which is important for competitiveness and jobs not least in the context of enlargement. We all welcome the reduction of inflation to considerably below 2%. At the tourism briefings, which have been referred to, accommodation prices are deemed to be pretty competitive. There was a 6% increase in tourism last year, despite all...

Seanad: Address by Mr. Seán Ó Neachtáin, MEP. (11 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I warmly welcome Mr. Ó Neachtáin. I will pose a more political question. The number of Irish MEPs is to be reduced from 15 to 13. It is even more important in those circumstances that we are able to punch above our weight. We are currently fortunate in that one of our MEPs is President of the European Parliament. The group in which our MEPs operate is one of the smaller groups but is part...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I support the views of a number of Senators from both sides on an issue first raised by Senator Brian Hayes. It is essential that we have a debate on the report which is being published today. That debate would help inform the work of the joint committee on the issues it will explore. I agree it is too serious a matter to be left aside for three months. I would welcome, if possible, a debate...

Seanad: Report on Dublin and Monaghan Bombings: Motion. - Defamation: Statements. (10 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister, his speech and this debate. If the Government is supposed to be manipulating the media it is not doing a very good job.

Seanad: Report on Dublin and Monaghan Bombings: Motion. - Defamation: Statements. (10 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I will only touch on the media because I want to take a wider view of defamation and deal with subjects not much discussed here this morning. The Minister made an important distinction in his speech between a press council that had some teeth, or that would not be toothless, and the separate question of how it would be composed. As Senator O'Meara rightly pointed out, we have for some years...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters. - Schools Building Projects. (10 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I reiterate my welcome for the extra €55 million provided, between the Book of Estimates and the budget, for school buildings. I suppose it was directed more towards primary than secondary schools, but the budget allocation was for both. The attention of the Minister for Education and Science and his Department should be drawn to the situation of Newtown Upper national school, which...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: Is that not right?

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: The Senator must accept the authority of the Cathaoirleach.

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Second Stage. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I welcome the Minister to the House. I recognise the importance of this legislation which derives from the agreement last April between the British and Irish Governments and the Joint Declaration in an effort to break the impasse which led to suspension in October 2002 and to repair the tried mechanisms which would enable trust to be repaired. Unfortunately that agreement in April did not...

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: There has been a convention on this type of body which is being set up as a direct result of the Northern Ireland peace process and the Good Friday Agreement. Especially given the international dimension, the Minister for Finance is more disposed to take on trust the necessity for the expenditures involved and, in practice, does not intervene in institutions of this type. Therefore, I query...

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: The phrase "in the course of duty" is covered in the legislation in section 5(2)(a) by the phrase "when performing their official functions". In effect, this says the same thing. Putting in the phrase "in good faith" raises or presumes situations arising in which people might not act in good faith. Some of the people involved come from outside this jurisdiction and are serving at the request...

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: It is not the type of thing one can put into legislation for such a body and would be contrary to all usual diplomatic usage. If a controversial situation were to arise, the remedies would be entirely political rather than legal.

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I accept the Minister's explanations. This is an amendment with which I have a certain degree of sympathy, because there were situations in the past where the political independence of assessments of situations which might have been in breach of the Mitchell principles, for example, have been questioned or challenged. I accept the Minister's reasoning but in establishing bodies of this kind...

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: May I clarify an earlier remark which has been referred to? On a previous amendment we were discussing the predication of possible lack of good faith to a new international body, one which includes a former Secretary General of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the recent former Chairman of the Northern Ireland Assembly. I said nothing which would imply that there had not...

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I must express a strong objection to that comment by the Senator. Either we support the Good Friday Agreement or we do not. We did not give the Articles away, we re-worded them in a way that reflects modern republicanism and it was supported in the end by every substantial party, north and south of the Border. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 which was the foundation of Northern Ireland as...

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I would put a slightly more positive construction on Articles 2 and 3 in the context of the 1937 Constitution and subsequently, than the Minister. They were a denial of legitimacy to Northern Ireland in circumstances where the balancing elements in the 1921 settlement had all been removed and, in particular, the Boundary Commission which turned out, effectively, to be a complete fraud. It was...

Seanad: Independent Monitoring Commission Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (9 Dec 2003)

Martin Mansergh: I accept what the Minister said. One month is unnecessarily constrictive but whether one is talking about domestic politics or the North, issues can arise that are highly embarrassing, unhelpful and so on, which if suppressed and sat on indefinitely has a festering effect on public confidence. A great deal of caution has to be exercised. I accept that the exact timing of reports is a matter...