Results 4,861-4,880 of 7,123 for speaker:Mary O'Rourke

Seanad: Family Law: Motion. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: I concur with the leader of the Opposition, Senator Brian Hayes. This is not a polarised debate. We did not set out just to talk about cohabiting couples or heterosexual "cohabitees", a term which the Minister decried because he wished to use a different word. Neither did we set out to talk about lesbian or gay relationships. We set out to discuss the totality of relationships outside the...

Seanad: Family Law: Motion. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: That is what is in the Constitution.

Seanad: Family Law: Motion. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: It is in the Constitution.

Seanad: Family Law: Motion. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: I have already discussed that with the proposer, with the Minister and with Senator Walsh.

Seanad: Family Law: Motion. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: None of us is.

Seanad: Family Law: Motion. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: What should they be called? Should they be called attendants?

Seanad: Family Law: Motion. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: It will be available next week, as will the Seanad report, as Gaeilge. Senator Browne also mentioned the Residential Institutions Redress Board and he has asked several times when that Bill will be introduced. I will try to deal with it when I deal with Senator Leyden's request to outline Mr. Sweeney's case to the House. Senator Feeney supported Senator Cummins's point that some people who...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: Senator Hanafin may have been somewhat disingenuous when he congratulated the Government on the speed with which it responded to the report of Commission on Electronic Voting.

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: No. He has a very worthwhile job. He also repeated his request for a debate on Africa. Senator Bradford asked for the appropriate Minister to come to the House to discuss electronic voting. I was waiting to see if the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, could come in but he has been appointed to the implementation body and it is difficult to get an...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: He is a very busy person and everyone is caught up in the local elections. Further to our discussion on Europe, we are enthused about the new member states but we should recognise that they all have old cultures with histories stretching back thousands of years in some cases. While it is wonderful that they have shaken off the yoke of serfdom and have joined the European Union, it is equally...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the Annual Report of the Ombudsman 2003, to be taken at the conclusion of the Order of Business and to conclude not later than 4 p.m., with the contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 12 minutes, those of all other Senators not to exceed eight minutes and the Minister to be called upon to reply not later than five minutes before the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: We could have Lord O'Toole.

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: It was not heated at all.

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: Committee Stage has been passed and the Bill is on Report Stage in the Dáil.

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: In what area?

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: Senator Brian Hayes, the leader of the Opposition, made a proposal, which was later seconded, and that is his right. Regarding the electronic voting Bill, I understand that Senator O'Toole asked on Friday morning why it was on the following week. I know that we do not talk about the other House, but I must point out that it passed Committee Stage and is on Report Stage in the Dáil. I raised...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: I was explaining the reasons. I was not going to walk in here today without knowing why the Bill was being taken. The commission needs a statutory set-up and legal framework, hence the need for the Bill to be passed. On the Senator's point that we now need two hours now to debate electronic voting, we will have four hours on Friday to do so. That seems ample to me. I know Senators will be...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: I cannot simply run around and get a Minister from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to produce himself out of a hat.

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2004)

Mary O'Rourke: I have provided the other side of the story.