Results 561-580 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Sport and Recreational Development. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Sport and physical activity has the potential to enrich the lives of all people and everyone of all ages and backgrounds should know that they can benefit from physical activity. The value of sport and physical activity to the nation simply cannot be over-emphasised in improving our health, in creating a sense of identity and belonging and in boosting our morale. Sedentary lifestyles are...

Sport and Recreational Development. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Perhaps the opposite is true.

Sport and Recreational Development. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Deputy O'Mahony for his good wishes. He is probably one of the few people in the House who has not asked me for tickets for an all-Ireland final. He probably has access to them himself.

Sport and Recreational Development. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: He has better access. I agree wholeheartedly with everything the Deputy said. Everything points to the fact that the school years are critical. Participation in sport during the school years, for all the reasons I have mentioned, is important and also gives a lifelong interest. During my time as Minister for Education and Science I highlighted the fact that principals were telling...

Sport and Recreational Development. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I cannot disagree with the Deputy; he is correct. It is important for young people, women's participation in sport and people with disabilities. Many sports partnerships now have officers with specific responsibility for including such people. There is great potential right across the abilities, ages and sectors for people to work together and promote the idea of a healthy lifestyle, of...

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The tourism renewal group emphasised that it is essential to get costs, competitiveness and pricing right in order to compete effectively in tourism. I am glad to see many State bodies that provide services to tourists are taking this advice on board in the initiatives they are taking and in their pricing policy for 2010. For example, despite challenging financial circumstances, the Office...

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The Deputy raised three important issues. With regard to visas, people can travel from a vast number of countries without needing a visa but countries such as India and China have the potential to send many visitors to Ireland. When people travel from those countries, they tend to spend a great deal of time in the country and a great deal of money, particularly in the regions, because if...

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Free train services for tourists aged over 66 have been made available by CIE just for this year but hopefully, that will continue next year. It was introduced on the basis that trains with significant capacity are running anyway but that might not necessarily always be true, for example, of bus services.

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The Department of Social and Family Affairs pays CIE and, therefore, somebody must pay for the scheme somewhere along the way. I suspect the train scheme will be hugely successful. Let us see how it goes and reflect on its potential. With regard to integrated ticketing - again I am wearing my previous hat - the new PPS card, which will be introduced later this year, will have a photograph,...

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The Shannon Airport catchment area economic and tourism development plan is designed to support the region. A preclearance facility has been approved at the airport and it can be extended to cater for other airlines. British Airways and United Airlines flights out of London stop at the airport to avail of the facility.

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: This new initiative might facilitate private jet users and so on to travel to Ireland and stay. It has great potential. I have received a request for a meeting from Shannon Development and I am happy to meet its representatives to discuss the various issues.

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I am sure the implementation of the plan will help in some regards but I am happy to sit down with the representatives of Shannon Development to discuss the potential for the area.

Cultural Promotion. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The importance and impact of culture is an essential element of our identity, profile, confidence and place in the world. I am convinced, based on the information available to me on those employed and engaged in the wider arts and culture sphere, that there is tremendous potential for enhanced opportunities to transform this landscape into the future. This optimism is driven and borne out by...

Cultural Promotion. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: My general policy on the arts, culture and the creative industry is to promote and strengthen it, increase participation and to see what added value we can get for the economy. It would be easy at times such as this to look at all aspects of society from an economic perspective but I firmly believe that arts and culture, being a part of what we are, are of value in their own right. It is an...

Cultural Promotion. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: In his article Mr. Fintan O'Toole recognised that I am the Minister for everything that is important to us. He is probably right in that. What Deputy Upton said about sport is correct. My answer was so long that I did not read it all. Thomond Park, Croke Park and the Aviva Stadium, which will open on 14 May, are three major centres of sport that have the potential to attract a significant...

National Opera Company. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 73 and 77 together. The foundation of Irish National Opera was announced recently and an interim board, chaired by Mr. Ray Bates, former director of the National Lottery was appointed. The Irish National Opera will be based in Dublin. It will stage opera on all scales in the capital and throughout the country. The company will also encourage the development...

National Opera Company. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Funding for 2011 will have to be agreed in the Estimates. We must await the outcome. The high-level objectives have been agreed with Opera Ireland, the Opera Theatre Company and the Arts Council. These have already been set out and include producing opera at all scales, promoting and encouraging the experience of opera productions among a wider audience, encouraging the development of the...

National Opera Company. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I cannot answer that as yet.

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I am aware from my initial contacts with tourism industry interests of potential difficulties in the availability and pricing of car hire during the peak summer period. I understand that a number of events have brought about the contraction in the car hire fleet. Traditionally, car rental companies bought new cars from dealers. They required the dealer to agree a price at which he or she...

Tourism Industry. (31 Mar 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Deputy Mitchell for her good wishes. We share the same interest in this area of tourism, culture and sport, and I look forward to working with this Department. There are a number of issues in this regard. I accept that there is a potential problem here for the tourist industry generally. However, the model that the car hire industry has been using has always insisted on new cars....