Results 5,421-5,440 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Employment Permits Bill 2003: Second Stage. (27 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: It did. It handed the party over to millionaires about ten years ago.

Seanad: Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland Bill 2002: Second Stage. (27 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: There is a well-known cliché about the extraordinary shape a horse designed by a committee would take. There is a degree to which this agency is a classic and not very aesthetically appealing fudge and compromise between two fairly strong-minded Ministers neither of whom, at least superficially, was prepared to be seen to lose. I agree with Senator Higgins that ultimately the Minister for...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I join other Senators in saying that the new format of the Order Paper is a disgraceful example of environmental waste, particularly in a country with a waste crisis of unmanageable proportions. I gather the Leader made some reference to it. There are two pages wasted on the cover. This must add up to 800 pages produced every day. I do not recall discussion of these changes by any committee...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Cheltenham Charlie delayed the Finance Bill 2003 to facilitate his attendance and his enthusiasm for horse racing, and now we have an early signature motion. This is a gross undermining of the spirit of the Constitution. (Interruptions).

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: This is not the spirit in which the business of this House should be conducted. Can we have a debate on crime levels? Figures published this morning showed an increase in the number of public order offences. This is not scaremongering. We are talking about increases of 50 and 60% in a year for some categories. If this trend continues, we will have uncontrollable streets. The Minister for...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I move:

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Did the Government do that on its own?

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I do not dispute what happened, but I am unsure about the attribution.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I think the Minister has more influence with the ICTU but I am willing to support him.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: That is almost eight years ago.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: The Senator is quoting Deputy Quinn out of context.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Why did the Taoiseach announce it would not be done?

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I never said that. The figure was 200,000.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: The Taoiseach said that the Government had done so.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I despair of Fianna Fáil. It is impossible to get them to engage with reality. They live in their own spin-doctored world.

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Senator Feighan wanted to know how the low level of eligibility for medical cards affects accident and emergency services. It is very simple. When people who become ill cannot afford to go to their GP for treatment, they go to an A&E service. If they could receive treatment from their GP, it would prevent them from having to go to hospital. It is the simplest thing in the world. That Fianna...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: —that Fianna Fáil lives in a cloud above reality, reading speeches and using information provided by its €20 million a year spin doctors. The Minister for Health and Children mentioned the primary care groups. Who would argue that they are not a great idea? However, to cater for 80,000 people – the word in the script was "client", but he corrected it to "people"– costs €4.5 million...

Seanad: Health Services: Motion. (26 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: It was one of Fianna Fail's previous leader who developed the joys of spending public money on expensive restaurants and he told them all about it. Fianna Fáil Senators claim that this threshold of €138 is not a priority. The most fundamental priority is to enable people to attend their GP when they are ill, not when they have money in their pocket. If Fianna Fáil does not understand that...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Mar 2003)

Brendan Ryan: Leaving aside whatever differences we have on the war in Iraq, I call upon all Members of the House to appeal to the media not to turn war coverage into a glorious game of "Star Wars". We must keep emphasising in the debate on Iraq that it is people who are at the receiving end. The war is not just about images. I wish to state this now rather than in the heat of debate. Whatever anybody...