Results 5,481-5,500 of 6,055 for speaker:Frank Feighan

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Dec 2005)

Frank Feighan: Nobody in this House should claim credit for the provision of child care. The people who should claim credit are the hardworking parents who have had to endure the lack of child care provision for the past ten years——

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Dec 2005)

Frank Feighan: ——and who made their sentiments known in the local elections and the two recent by-elections in Meath and Kildare. Can the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform be invited to the House to discuss Operation Freeflow? We have seen in the newspapers the picture of a Minister of State superimposed on a photograph of what is clearly not the city of Dublin.

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Dec 2005)

Frank Feighan: With Operation Freeflow one sees gardaí on every street and corner, which is welcome. However, there is no reserve police force or barracks full of extra gardaí so where are these gardaí coming from? Does relieving the traffic in Dublin mean that the heat will be taken off the drug and criminal gangs? These gardaí must have come from somewhere.

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Dec 2005)

Frank Feighan: They have obviously been taken from serious duties. Unless this Government introduces 2,000 extra gardaí the drug gangs and serious criminal gangs——

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Dec 2005)

Frank Feighan: ——will get away with everything.

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Dec 2005)

Frank Feighan: I also join in the call for a debate on drugs. I congratulate the newly formed crime squad on the joint operations which have found more than €25 million worth of drugs in three shipments. It is only the tip of the iceberg and it is coming down the tracks extremely quickly. We must wake up. In the north of this city an extremely violent and well-organised non-national crime organisation...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (23 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: I am shocked to discover that obesity and related illnesses killed up to 2,500 Irish people last year. This society is not doing enough to ensure this illness is cured and the Government allocated a paltry €3 million to tackling it. The House should debate the issue because it needs to be addressed. Many young people are dying needlessly because not enough attention is paid to this area.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This Bill is rather technical and was mainly drafted to bring our legislation on medicines and their control into line with that of the European Union. I welcome the Bill as it entails numerous proposals that will result in greater protection of the consumer. Over the years, the consumer has not always been to the forefront of legislation and it...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Second Stage. (22 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: Has the Minister any plans to carry out inspections in the alternative medicine sector? Section 9 updates Irish legislation to conform to European Union legislation, thus making the Irish Medicines Board the competent authority for the purposes of EU directives relating to medical devices. I welcome this. The Irish Medicines Board is being appointed to exercise powers under section 14 of the...

Seanad: Ferns Report: Statements. (10 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: I welcome the Minister of State to the House for these difficult statements on the Ferns Report. We should thank Mr. Justice Murphy and his team for a thorough report. That report caused deep anger. The graphic accounts, which I did not particularly want to read, and the actions of perpetrators, particularly Fr. Fortune, leave me speechless. These people enjoyed a lot of trust and were in...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: On a point of order, how many Members raised their hands late?

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: It is relevant. The Cathaoirleach said several Members were too late in indicating their wish to speak.

Seanad: Swimming Pool Projects. (9 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: I welcome the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism, Deputy O'Donoghue, to the House. I raise a pertinent matter regarding the provision of sports facilities. I represent the Roscommon constituency, which benefited from significant Government investment in a leisure centre three years ago. This was money well spent on a facility which has been a major source of enjoyment and health benefit to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: On numerous occasions I highlighted the fact that 50,000 young Irishmen died in the Great War and it is only recently that we have begun to commemorate and remember them. They were volunteers and not conscripted. We should unite to ensure a blanket pardon for those men who were executed. An Irish soldier was ten times more likely to be executed than a New Zealand soldier in a contingent of...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: The new coalition partner.

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: I second the amendment tabled by Fine Gael and welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Parlon, to the House. I am an optimist by nature. I normally consider the glass to be half full rather than half empty. The Progressive Democrats' motion is aspirational in nature. However, if this discussion was taking place in five years' time, I would prefer to see the PDs in Government with Fianna Fáil...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: The Minister of State is being very flippant about the backbone of this country. As someone once said, Ireland is a nation of small shopkeepers. They are the people who created the employment ——

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: They are the people who set up this country and who employ people. This Government has turned its back on small businesses and created an environment where bigger is better and only large businesses can avail of economies of scale. If there is a downturn in this economy, there will be no small businesses left, which are its backbone. Irish competitiveness has been seriously eroded by a sharp...

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: That was lip-service. I have heard it ——

Seanad: Tax Code: Motion. (2 Nov 2005)

Frank Feighan: I have heard it so often.