Results 4,681-4,700 of 6,020 for speaker:Martin Conway

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Voluntary Sector Funding (17 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I thank the Minister for his detailed reply. I fully accept that it would not be appropriate to interfere with a live appeals process. I understand that the closing deadline for that appeals process was lunchtime last Friday. I hope the appeals officers in these cases will take a fresh look at the overall context of what has been achieved here and will also look at the track record of...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Voluntary Sector Funding (17 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I appreciate that the Minister for Health, Deputy Varadkar, has only been in his current role for several days but this issue has been well ventilated in the press and in these Houses recently. I am speaking specifically about the loss of €88,000 to the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association. Under the special scheme for financing national organisations, the association used this...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2014: Second Stage (17 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: Well said.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I thank all Members for speaking on the Fine Gael Private Members' motion yesterday. In areas where it is appropriate and right the Seanad always comes together which sometimes makes it unpopular with the other House. Thankfully, we have the capability and ability to do so. I commend the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport and Communications on trying to get to the bottom of the Croke...

Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Motion for Earlier Signature (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I move:That pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Court of Appeal Bill 2014 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: On behalf of the Fine Gael group I thank all Members for their co-operation. This morning we agreed to take all Stages today because this legislation is extremely important. The people voted on it which does not happen with every piece of legislation that comes before us. I agree with the Minister that it is a milestone. Justice delayed is justice denied and it is totally unacceptable for...

Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Second Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: Now.

Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Second Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: Absolutely.

Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Second Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I welcome the Minister to the House. Since her appointment, she has spent a great deal of time here. She is welcome and she has a great regard for the Seanad, given that she was a former leader of the Opposition. The Bill, which is straightforward, will give effect to what the people decided in the referendum on a court of appeal. The legislation will bring our legal structures into line...

Seanad: Eye Care: Motion (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: Contributions from all Members were very well researched. The knowledge of what the National Vision Coalition has proposed and its research seems to have influenced the contributions. I thank Senator Marc MacSharry for not pressing the amendment, because it would have diluted what we were trying to achieve. I thank the Minister for not opposing the motion. We can take hope from his...

Seanad: Eye Care: Motion (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: It would be remiss of me not to commend Deputy James Reilly, who met members of the coalition when he was Minister for Health. He said that he believed in the concept of strategies. Senator John Crown has already commented on what has been achieved by a very focused strategy on cancer. We are dealing with something that will end up costing the country an awful lot of money in the future if...

Seanad: Eye Care: Motion (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: We would be very happy if the Senator would.

Seanad: Eye Care: Motion (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I move: That Seanad Éireann: - recognises the objectives of Vision 2020 led by the World Health Organisation to eliminate avoidable blindness by 2020; - welcomes the establishment of the HSE National Programme for Eye Care which aims to reduce the incidence of avoidable sight loss through the development and implementation of fit-for-purpose care pathways and referral protocols; -...

Seanad: Employment Permits (Amendment) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I commend Senator Cullinane on tabling this amendment, as the situation is interesting. The Minister is right in that we need to make Ireland as attractive as possible for people with skill sets of which there is a shortage here, given the fact that neighbouring countries will also have that shortage. Many people make lifestyle choices when considering work options. I accept the Minister's...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I regularly speak in the House on the importance of tourism. I would like the Leader to organise a debate in due course, possibly in September or October, with the Minister of State with responsibility for sport, Deputy Michael Ring, on how we can source international sporting events. An American football match is coming up in Croke Park later this year and there are facilities all over...

Seanad: Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: As in the case of our having to apologise for what happened in the past in mother and baby homes, future generations of our people will be apologising to people who are now detained in direct provision. It is within our realm as a society to change this. It does not require rocket science to change it. Barriers can be put up and excuses can be made but where there is a will there is a way....

Seanad: Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I welcome the Tánaiste and commend her on her appointment. She is a regular visitor to the Seanad so I am not surprised that she chose to initiate this important legislation in the Seanad. I was confused, as I have the justice portfolio and I think it concerns that area as much as social welfare. It is most certainly a civil rights issue. The Tánaiste and Senator Power have in...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I join colleagues in congratulating the new Ministers and Ministers of State. It would be appropriate for the new Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to be invited to come before the House to engage in a debate on the holding of festivals and events and how we might restore the country's reputation in the aftermath of the debacle which marked the past couple of weeks. One classic...

Seanad: Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (10 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I echo the comments of previous speakers. The purpose of the Seanad is to improve legislation. If other Ministers were to adopt a similar position, it would improve the work of the House and legislation and, as such, enhance people's lives. It is fantastic that the Minister accepted a Committee Stage amendment in principle before proceeding to foolproof and reconstruct it. Her actions...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Martin Conway: I rise to agree with Senator Bradford in his sense of bewilderment at a lack of empathy in this country. One can only bring this back to a fact that society is becoming bland and disconnected. History has been dropped as a core subject and it has been diminished as a topic in second level education. One must be very worried about that as we cannot go forward unless we understand the past....