Results 501-520 of 1,677 for speaker:Ned O'Sullivan

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: As I was not present yesterday I wish, belatedly, to offer my sympathy on the passing of the great playwright, Tom Murphy. He was certainly one of the great playwrights of our time, along with Brian Friel and my late townsman John B. Keane. It is a huge loss. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. I support Senator Wilson's call for an enlargement of the franchise for future Seanad...

Seanad: Childcare Support Bill 2017: Report and Final Stages (17 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: On behalf of my side of the House, I also congratulate and commend the Minister on the passing of the Bill and wish her well.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (15 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: I am somewhat disappointed by recent events in the debate on the eighth amendment. I had felt and hoped all along that we would have a disciplined, moderate and civilised debate. I felt that we had that up to now but there has definitely been a huge dip in standards over the past weekend and in recent days.Last night's debate was most unedifying and was a setback for reasoned thinking. I...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (15 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: That is obviously part of the game plan for the remainder of the debate. It is most unfair. Medical opinion is divided on this, as is legal opinion, political opinion and family opinions. However, we do not attack the opposite person, try to vilify him in a personal way and try to bring his character and credentials into dispute. That should not happen. I love to listen to reasoned debate...

Seanad: Radiological Protection (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (15 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Seanad: Radiological Protection (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (15 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: That will be a matter for the Leader. It is noted. When is it proposed to sit again?

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: The front page of The Irish Timescaught my eye and the report that the lives of more than 520 people in Dublin are at risk from criminals. Perhaps this was covered by a Member previously on the Order of Business but it is quite startling. It is noticeable that more and more of the resources of the Garda Síochána in the city go towards preventing killings due to the internecine...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: I neglected to congratulate Senator McDowell on his unanimous election as Chairman of the Seanad reform committee.

Seanad: Domestic Violence Bill 2017: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (Resumed) (2 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group, and especially our leader, Senator Catherine Ardagh, our spokesperson on justice Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee, and on my own behalf, having followed the debate with great interest although I did not contribute, I welcome the passing of the Bill. I compliment the Minister for steering it through, as I compliment his predecessor, Deputy Frances...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 May 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: I add my congratulations to the two new Senators and wish them well. I listened to their maiden speeches online and I was very impressed by them both. I had not made the connection between Senator Lawlor and his illustrious mother, who came into the Seanad on the same path as a cousin of mine, Kit Ahern, who was also president of the ICA. She finished up in the Dáil subsequent to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Proposed MetroLink: Discussion (25 Apr 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: Go raibh maith agat. I welcome all the representatives of the State agencies and of the community groups here today. My initial response is that this a very exciting project and hugely important for the city for lots of reasons. It is good to note that there is a positive acceptance and a welcome for it despite the serious concerns people have. If anyone is listening in on live TV from...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Apr 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: Today is the opening day of the Punchestown national hunt festival, which I suppose is Ireland's Cheltenham, and we wish it good weather. It seems to me to be an opportune time to ask for the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, to come into the House to give us an overview of the Irish racing situation as he sees it. I would like to hear his views on the recent...

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: I commend the Acting Chairman on his flexible approach to this debate.

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: I had said that I was going to make a point of order because we are making Second Stage speeches.

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: Yes, and the Acting Chairman has taken the right decision. It has been quite illuminating, the debate has been of the highest standard, and there have been some excellent speeches, not least the one made by the preceding speaker, Senator Higgins. The contribution by Senator McDowell is possibly the best speech I have heard in this House in my time here. It was a privilege to listen to it....

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: No. The eighth amendment was inserted into the Constitution in 1983. That was a different time, a different world and a different Ireland. Just ten years prior to that, in 1973, the then coalition Government moved a proposal called the constitutional right to privacy Bill, or something like that, which was to give a tiny modicum of - the least - access to contraception to married couples....

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: It was a step forward. One could avail of contraception if one was married and had a doctor's prescription. I am just putting that out there to show the Ireland that gave rise to the eighth amendment. I was alive then, I voted then, and to be honest, I cannot remember how I voted. I suspect that I voted against it but I cannot be certain. That was foisted on the people by a strong,...

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: Quite simply, the eighth amendment is not fit for purpose, as subsequent referendums have shown, and it needs to be taken out. If we have to tinker with it, go around it, work through it and turn it upside down for the rest of our lives, the Constitution will never be at peace. This is an opportunity to take out what should never have been put in in the first place. The people will decide.

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: That is the wonderful thing about a republic and a democracy. I do not know what the people will choose to do. I believe I am the only one of the eight Oireachtas Members from County Kerry who is voting for this Bill-----

Seanad: An Bille um an Séú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht 2018: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018: Committee and Remaining Stages (28 Mar 2018)

Ned O'Sullivan: -----and will vote "Yes" the next day.