Results 5,961-5,980 of 6,055 for speaker:Frank Feighan

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2003: Committee and Remaining Stages. (5 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: I congratulate the Minister on the Bill and thank the staff who put the Bill together. It was not a contentious Bill. I did not realise it involved community rating or risk equalisation. I was pleased to see that the World Health Organisation praised our health insurance system as one of the three best in the world. It is the nearest to best solution we can get.

Seanad: Business of Seanad. (5 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: And the efficiency of the Acting Chairman.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: In the 1980s I grew up in a closed society and church and State were very much to the forefront of activity. There was an element of gombeenism which I disliked. Gombeen men used to enter my town wearing Crombie coats and used to tell me what a great town it was and what a great business I had. They used to make loads of promises during election campaigns and when they were over, they...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: I will get back to that. I play my politics by giving credit where it is due. Unfortunately, not one telephone call was made to the Minister and the jobs were created in an office in Sligo town which has no car parking facilities and which costs the Exchequer three times more than it would in Boyle. I had to use the Freedom of Information Act to access the information I sought which made me...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: Deputy McDaid said that the Bill was a minimalist and disappointing administrative fig-leaf rather than a mechanism for real openness in Government. A man who claims to know his constituents and who recently wished to act as a go-between in Limerick city, Deputy O'Dea—

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: —said there would be few requests for documents. That is at odds with his claim to be at the grassroots. As Senator Cummins pointed out, Deputy O'Donnell said she was not confident that future Governments would be forthcoming with sensitive or explosive information when their members' skins were at stake. That she is a prophet can be seen from the fact that her words have come true.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: Or a profiteer. The Government she and her party are members of is amending the legislation five years later to deny the people an informed view of the thinking behind its policies. The Government fears accountability and transparency, concepts I am sick of hearing its members refer to. One of the most objectionable aspects of the Bill is the view on which it is based. The Government's...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: I will not withdraw the remark.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: I am recording my opinion on the matter. The Government has relied on five generals, albeit Secretaries General, to decide amendments to legislation, which is unfair and unjust. The Opposition parties have not been asked for their views, despite the fact that we hold them.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: I am.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: I was not asked for my views when the legislation was drawn up and I would like to know why the National Union of Journalists was ignored. This is a back-stairs exercise and an assault on the spirit of openness and transparency of the original Act. During 2001, 15,428 freedom of information requests were made to an ever expanding list of public bodies.

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: There was an increase of 12.4% on the 2000 figures and of 34% since the figures submitted in 1999. Despite the public perception, only 3,123 of those 15,428 applications were from the media and that represented an increase of 23% from the previous year. What is there to worry about when ordinary citizens request information? On occasion, requests were turned down, but the information was...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: I became a councillor in 1999. I take that role seriously and I represent the people enthusiastically. I was nominated by the Irish Kidney Association and I spent a great deal of time researching the Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2003, which I concluded was fine legislation. The World Health Organisation has praised our health insurance system. Members on the Government side have asked...

Seanad: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (4 Mar 2003)

Frank Feighan: The introduction of the Freedom of Information Act should have been staggered and the ten year rule might not be a bad idea. It would be preferable if everybody had an opportunity to take a year out in order to consult the various bodies involved, but, instead, the legislation is being pushed through. That is something with which I do not agree. Years ago the principal of my school was going...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Feb 2003)

Frank Feighan: I thank our esteemed Leader—

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Feb 2003)

Frank Feighan: —our dear Leader, for clarifying the recently highlighted issue concerning TV licences and old age pensioners. Because of our intervention, pensioners all over this country are relieved and satisfied that this initiative will not affect them.

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Feb 2003)

Frank Feighan: There is one question I want to ask the Leader. Over the past two months I have highlighted the neglect of rolling stock on the Sligo rail line. Last week, once again, a train left Dublin without a working heating system. I know, from within Iarnród Éireann, that this is due to lack of maintenance. In talking to the people in Iarnród Éireann, I did not get a satisfactory response. I urge...

Seanad: Suicide Incidence: Statements. (27 Feb 2003)

Frank Feighan: I welcome the Minister of State's statement. It is recognised by everybody that the levels of suicide and parasuicide are alarming and tragic. The challenge facing society is a reduction in the number of these tragedies and suicide prevention. It is a difficult issue which for a long time was not given the attention it merited. In the past there was a great reluctance to even discuss it....

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (26 Feb 2003)

Frank Feighan: I welcome the Minister to introduce this short and relatively straightforward Bill. When we talk of health insurance, we think of the VHI and BUPA. The VHI has been in business for about 40 years. At this time we should remember the late Mr. Tom O'Higgins who was instrumental in introducing the VHI which has certainly been very successful. In some countries there are many more private health...

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

Frank Feighan: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Seanad Éireann condemns the Government for its abject failure for almost six years to reform the health service, to ensure value for the enormous sums of taxpayers' money spent and for failing to show the political leadership or decision making capability to guarantee and sustain an equitable and quality...