Results 5,821-5,840 of 7,404 for speaker:Mick Wallace

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: I will keep going.

Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: The Minister added that what was important was that such properties when purchased were invested in and promoted because while it may be the case that they are being bought at a major discount in terms of what they were worth a couple of years ago, the previous owners had not done a very good job. To say that the previous owners had not done a good job is rubbish and totally unfair.

Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: I wonder if these investors would consider buying some of our coastline and investing in the prevention of coastal erosion instead of cherry-picking like vultures.

Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: That is why the Deputy is offering no defence.

Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: I thank Deputy Luke 'Ming' Flanagan for giving me an opportunity to speak. While I hold the Government responsible for many things, I do not blame it for the weather, although I have been blamed for the weather in the past. Given that the weather and the damage it has caused have been so bad, the Government clearly does not have the capacity to solve all the problems. For the past...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Social Workers Recruitment (12 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: 35. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her views on reports that at least 200 social work posts are currently vacant even though there have been significant increases in the number of reports of children at risk of abuse or neglect; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6635/14]

Reports of Unlawful Surveillance of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: Do we have seven and a half minutes each?

Reports of Unlawful Surveillance of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: At this stage, most people are of the opinion that all is not well in terms of how our police force is operating and how the Minister deals with it and the inspectorate. We realise that GSOC does not have much power or funding, but it has been treated poorly in recent days. Once the news broke, the urgency and eagerness of members of the Government in attacking the GSOC was disconcerting....

Other Questions: Fish Farming (11 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: We understand the necessity to carry out the appropriate assessments and that the Minister wants to put a gold-plated system in place. However, given that some people are waiting since 2010 for these assessments, is it the case that there is a shortage of manpower to deal with the problem? No one is saying that the regulations should be by-passed or that things should be done in anything...

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Harbours and Piers Funding (11 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: 99. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will consider providing funding for a short extension to the pier at Courtown, County Wexford, which continues to deteriorate, in order to deal with ongoing silting problems at the harbour and the difficulties this creates for fishermen and other boat users; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6314/14]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Severe Weather Events Response (11 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: 101. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if his Department will provide any assistance to lobster and crab fishermen in County Wexford who lost their equipment or found it damaged beyond repair following the recent storms; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6313/14]

Down's Syndrome (Equality of Access) Bill 2013: Second Stage (7 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: I will be brave and try to follow the contribution of Deputy Clare Daly. However, my contribution will be nowhere near as good, for which I apologise in advance. It is welcome that Deputy Finian McGrath has made this a matter of public debate once again. Matters of this nature tend to slip out of notice or drag on and, as a result, children lose out. In addition, ground that it is not...

Topical Issue Debate: RTE Compensation Payment (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: The Minister said RTE is an independent broadcaster. RTE depends on the good favour of the Government of the day and on big business for advertising. I do not find it so independent. Today I received an e-mail from Ross Golden Bannon. He said:Our community and our supporters now face into a campaign for the referendum on marriage equality in 2015 with one hand tied behind our backs. The...

Topical Issue Debate: RTE Compensation Payment (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: I also watched Panti's speech at the Abbey Theatre and it is very powerful. One would think RTE had an obligation to facilitate free and open debate but in this instance, it failed miserably. Some people now are more offended by the word "homophobia" than they are by homophobia itself. This is censorship. In a press release last week, the Minister stated that homophobia "is too loaded a...

County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Second Stage (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: I propose to share time with Deputies Richard Boyd Barrett and Catherine Murphy. Examining the Forfás annual employment survey for 2012 it is difficult to discern what is being done by State bodies such as Enterprise Ireland, Shannon Development and Údarás na Gaeltachta to promote Irish enterprises and job creation. What makes it even more difficult is the footnote at the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Deployment (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: 5. To ask the Minister for Defence the number of occasions in 2013 on which An Garda Síochána requested support from the Defence Forces at Shannon Airport; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5576/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Deployment (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: Most people realise that funding is scarce, but that is all the more reason to ask why the State continues to spend money facilitating war efforts through Shannon Airport. People in the Curragh are being threatened with eviction from their homes, yet we can still find money to facilitate a war effort that has resulted in the slaughter of more than 1 million people.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Deployment (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: It is amazing to learn that the Defence Forces were called on 324 occasions. As the Minister is aware, Margaretta D'Arcy is still in prison. It is interesting to note the comments of the former UN Assistant Secretary General, who highlighted that Ms D'Arcy's refusal to sign a bond not to return to Shannon Airport is based on her belief in the Nuremberg principle of 1945 whereby individual...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Defence Forces Deployment (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: The Minister informed the House that the Defence Forces were called to Shannon Airport 324 times in 2013. The airport also has access to a strong Garda force. He tells us that to keep a 79 year old woman on a zimmer frame off the runway, she has to be put in jail. What planet is the Minister living on? The Minister can throw as many personal jibes at me as he likes about issues I have...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Properties (6 Feb 2014)

Mick Wallace: 17. To ask the Minister for Defence if he will consider a report by an independent party costing a renovation programme for the remaining 101 family dwellings at the Curragh Camp; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5575/14]