Results 5,681-5,700 of 18,496 for speaker:Brendan Smith

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (11 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: 624. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the need to improve broadband telecommunications infrastructure throughout County Cavan; when it is expected that the national broadband plan will be rolled out to benefit areas such as County Cavan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32540/17]

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Service Provision (11 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: 625. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources if his attention has been drawn to the need to improve broadband telecommunications infrastructure throughout County Monaghan; when it is expected that the national broadband plan will be rolled out to benefit areas such as County Monaghan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32541/17]

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport Eligibility (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: 7 o’clock I welcome the Minister of State’s forthright response and his obvious determination to bring about a resolution to these difficulties. It will not cost millions of euro. The moneys involved are small amounts, yet it is so important to families. We know families are stressed out at the beginning of the school year with various back-to-school costs. Additional...

Topical Issue Debate: School Transport Eligibility (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: I appreciate the selection of this subject by the Office of the Ceann Comhairle. I am very glad the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, is here to deal with this Topical Issue. I appreciate his engagement with me and other Members in regard to school transport. The issue pertains in particular to the start of the school year last year. The Minister of State facilitated meetings with...

Other Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Minister. I raised a Topical Issue on 6 April. At that time, the concern of the board of management and the parents association was the detailed stage 2b submission and the Department had not given permission for the pre-tender qualification process to commence in tandem with the examination of the submission. That evening, I requested the Minister to ask the Department to...

Other Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: I thank the Minister. Those of us who have the privilege of representing the constituency of Cavan-Monaghan and having had interaction with the school on many occasions over the years know that it is a school of which we are all proud. Successive principals, the current principal, Rachel Moynagh, all her staff, the board of management and successive parents associations have worked to...

Other Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: 10. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a building project at a school (details supplied) will proceed to construction stage without further delay in view of the urgent need to provide additional and upgraded permanent school accommodation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31731/17]

Other Questions: Schools Building Projects Status (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: As the Minister, Deputy Bruton, is well aware, this project, the Holy Family School at Cootehill, is of utmost importance. This school was established in 1966 and one of its founders was our former colleague in this House, Dr. Rory O'Hanlon. It serves the catchment area of Cavan and Monaghan and it is the only special needs school we have in either county. Since 2002, the school population...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: I extend a warm welcome to the witnesses for this part of the meeting which is on the matter of organ harvesting in China: Mr. David Matas, Mr. Ethan Gutmann, Dr. Enver Tohti Bughda, Dr. James McDaid, Dr. Conall O'Seaghdha and Ms Dongxue Dai. We will hear their opening statements before going into a question and answer session with the members of the committee. Before we begin I remind...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: We work late here every night.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: I thank all the witnesses for their presentations. They have outlined circumstances which would trouble anyone with a shred of decency or concern for human rights. It is horrific to consider the number of people involved. I recall that Mr. Gutmann made a presentation to the committee some years ago. He indicated this morning that he underestimated the numbers of victims of this particular...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: Do colleagues of Dr. O'Seaghda and Dr. McDaid in Britain and other northern and central European countries have concerns that persons in those countries are participating in transplant tourism?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: Before inviting members to contribute, is the violation of vulnerable individuals primarily carried out to facilitate kidney transplants?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: Whichever witnesses wish to respond to the various questions can do so now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: Would anyone else like to comment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: I thank Dr. McDaid for his contribution. There are medical councils in each jurisdiction. It would be important that they would communicate the concerns of the physicians and medical professionals to their relevant health departments and governments. The representative organisations would have ongoing contact with their relevant government department on a regular basis. Regardless of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Organ Harvesting in China: Discussion (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: The joint committee is aware some local authorities passed this motion. The local authorities which passed it should convey that message to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It is important the message is sent to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. It would be no harm if the said local authorities communicated directly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Humanitarian Crisis in the Mediterranean: Médecins Sans Frontières (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: In part B of today's meeting, we will receive presentations from representatives of Médecins Sans Frontières, MSF. I welcome Mr. Sam Taylor, director of MSF in Ireland, Dr. Conor Kenny, who has recently returned from vital fieldwork aboard a rescue vessel in the Mediterranean, and Mr. Alex Dunne. It is essential for the committee to hear first-hand accounts of the ongoing crisis,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Humanitarian Crisis in the Mediterranean: Médecins Sans Frontières (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: I sincerely thank both of you for your graphic presentations. Mr. Taylor said the deaths at sea in the Mediterranean now are comparable to those in war zones. That is graphic and demonstrates the huge, needless loss of life. It is a gruesome picture of the horrors being inflicted on innocent people every day, unfortunately. The first group of questioners is Deputies Crowe, Maureen...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Humanitarian Crisis in the Mediterranean: Médecins Sans Frontières (6 Jul 2017)

Brendan Smith: With regard to Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan's Topical Issue debate, I had some contact from some interested parties on the Saturday and Sunday prior to the Council of Ministers meeting held on the Monday morning. Through Marylee Wall, policy adviser to the committee, interacting with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that Sunday, it was raised at the meeting of the Council of...