Results 461-480 of 602 for speaker:Fiach MacConghail

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: On a point of order, it is on commemorations and not on the issue I raised today.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: On a point of order, they were also proposed by the current Government. The Minister, Deputy Deenihan, is up to his knees in amalgamations.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I am pressing the amendment on the basis that there is no guaranteed or confirmed time when the Minister will deal solely with this issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: There is a crisis in the way culture and our living heritage is administered by the Government. This is not about money but about the lack of vision and public consultation in the way our national cultural institutions are being treated in a profoundly secretive and cavalier way. I am concerned about this and I call on the Leader to invite the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht,...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: Is this the end of the National Cultural Institutions Act 1997, initiated by the President when he was a Minister, and of the National Archives Act 1986? Will the merger of the National Archives and the National Library succeed in saving money? It will not. I know there can be reductions in costs and more sharing of services, but to abolish or merge organisations without any public...

Seanad: EU Presidency: Statements, Questions and Answers (10 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: The Senator could have made his contribution here first and then went to the media.

Seanad: EU Presidency: Statements, Questions and Answers (Resumed) (10 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I welcome the Minister of State. As I have done privately, I offer my support to her. As Senator Healy Eames stated, Ireland has a fantastic opportunity to use the Presidency - I use the phrase carefully - to improve its damaged reputation. There is a fractured Europe. It is not structurally fractured but the relationships are fractured. We are cranky, for good reason. We have a...

Seanad: Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (2 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I will be brief in my contribution. I concur with Senator Cullinane's view that these are technical amendments. On yesterday's Order of Business I congratulated Senator Bacik on this very important and significant legislation. This shows again how the Seanad can make a difference. I admire the language in the Bill which describes a philosophical non-confessional body. In my view this is...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 May 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I congratulate Senator Bacik on the Civil Registration (Amendment) Bill and House will debate Committee Stage today. It shows not only the perseverance but the time it takes for such a small but very important Bill to be introduced and go through the Houses. It started as a Private Members' Bill in 2011 and shows how the Seanad can initiate good legislation. What is the expected schedule...

Seanad: Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 Apr 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I also welcome the Minister of State to the House and formally congratulate him on his recent elevation. As a nominated Senator with no experience in EU politics or in the governance of our country, today is a day that I sometimes dread, a day in which I have to contribute to debates like this. It would be easy for me not to appear in the Chamber today, to excuse myself and hope there was no...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I welcome the courtesy and the advance notice the Leader gives us when planning debates. It means we can plan our debates better and be more informed. I draw attention to the important debate we are having this evening on criminalising the purchase of sex. We expected the Minister to come back within the past six months on a commitment for the public consultation process. He has done so...

Seanad: Human Trafficking and Prostitution: Motion (18 Apr 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I am seconding this motion. I welcome the Minister to the House. His presence is an acknowledgment of the seriousness and commitment he brings to the substantive issue covered in the motion before the House. Just over six months have passed since we debated the possibility of criminalising the purchase of sex. We suggested that such a measure could and would halt the pernicious and...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I support Senator Healy Eames and Quinn in their call to the Leader to set aside some time to debate the increased participation in civil society, which is why the Seanad was originally formed. I refer to Change Nation and Ashoka who organised events last weekend in Farmleigh and the Mansion House. There are an extraordinary bunch of social entrepreneurs and social innovators from Ms...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: While I am afraid I was not present at the discussion last night on the future of the Seanad, I remind Members that they had considered the idea of inviting leaders of civil society to this Chamber on a regular basis to inform and to share information with them. One of the Seanad's difficulties is that it is not fully democratic. I am a nominated Senator and consequently can speak for this....

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (15 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I move amendment No. 1: In page 21, line 18, to delete "Part after Part VIII" and substitute "Parts after Part VIII". Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire ar ais go dtí an Teach. Ócáid stairiúil í seo mar seo í an chuid dheireannach den reachtaíocht, An Bille Toghcháin (Leasú) (Maoiniú) Polaitíochta) sula dtéann sé go dtí an Dáil. Tá cúpla rud gur mhaith liom a chur faoi bhráid an...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (15 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: As this is my first time to deal with a Bill on Report Stage, I trust the Leas-Chathaoirleach will guide me gently.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (15 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: The new Part X is an attempt to address this issue. When one considers what the leader's allowance is for, there are aspects of it which could be perceived to be open to misappropriation. In that context, certain elements within the media are only dying to jump down our necks in respect of expenses. Members and the House will be left open to accusations of being of ill repute if we do not...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (15 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: I would never have considered the Minister a softie.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (15 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: It was the Moriarty report.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (15 Mar 2012)

Fiach MacConghail: Yes, I do.