Results 6,261-6,280 of 7,765 for speaker:Maurice Cummins

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, before section 5, but in Part 1, to insert the following new section:

Seanad: Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Blessed Edmund Ignatius Rice founded the Christian Brothers and set up his first school in Waterford at Mount Sion. Although I am a De La Salle man, I am deeply proud of the Christian Brothers' beginnings and traditions and of Mount Sion and the host of luminaries it has produced in the academic, political and sporting fields in County Waterford and the country. The board of management, the...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects. (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: With all due respect to the Minister of State, his response included several red herrings regarding other schools. Mount Sion wants to know if and when it will get its new school. The Government is obviously not going to answer that question although the former Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Woods, announced the money for it more than five years ago. It is a disgrace that a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Fine Gael welcomes this Bill and supports what it purports to do. However, I am not convinced it will achieve all the Minister has promised it will. I am concerned about the Bill from a number of perspectives, not least the fact it may end up doing the opposite to what it intends. I am concerned also that the Bill as worded is not robust or watertight. A lack of prudence in this area...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Everyone recognises the serious crisis in the rate of crime. Everyone from Wexford to Westport, or Waterford to Walkinstown, has been either directly affected by crime or knows someone who has. People do not need to hear statistics to know that incidents classified as assault, arson, drug offences, robberies, and fraud have increased by over 22% in the first quarter of 2007, according to...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Last year.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: The Minister of State's party might be looking for another one in a few weeks' time and he might be in the running for it himself.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: At the time the Tánaiste rubbished the idea, saying it was laughable and unworkable and that Fine Gael was in cloud cuckoo land for even daring to make such a proposal. Now the Tánaiste has undergone a Pauline conversion. He has not only come around to our way of thinking but has made Fine Gael policy one of the cornerstones of his last Criminal Justice Bill. Imitation is said to be the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: That highlights the problems we have in debating this Bill. We cannot get through half of what we want to say.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, has promised us this Bill will do many things. He told us it will strengthen our system and make life more difficult for criminals, and I hope it does. However, I am not convinced and several parts of the Bill will have the opposite effect. Without time to consider and amend it, we will have several problems in years to come.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Second Stage (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: As I have done. However, I will not do so in this instance.

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Fine Gael supports this resolution to extend the provisions of the 1998 Act. This is not an academic exercise. A total of 247 persons were arrested under these provisions during the period under review. Alarmingly, we see more and more clear evidence of links between dissident republicans and gangland crime and of dissident republicans co-operating with crime lords. Unfortunately, the...

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: The Minister of State cannot deliver what he promised five years ago, not to mention another 2,000.

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: How many were recruited?

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Assaults and robberies are up 22%. Those are facts as well.

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Yes, that is what the Minister of State is doing.

Seanad: Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998: Motion (26 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: Assaults and violent crime have increased.

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy. (25 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I join in the tributes to our colleague Senator Kate Walsh. She was a friend to all in the Seanad and was proud to be a Member. Kate always had a commonsense and down-to-earth approach to all matters raised in this House. There were no airs and graces about her and what one saw was what one got, which was a warmth and kindness that everyone appreciated. All Members are glad to have known...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: I support Senator Brian Hayes in his comments on the Garda Síochána and welcome the comments of Kathleen O'Toole. I am the first to acknowledge many good proposals were made when debating the Garda Síochána Act but the Government cannot hide behind the Act where resources or lack thereof are concerned. Last year, the indoor training range, where gardaí practised weapons training, was...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Apr 2007)

Maurice Cummins: If the Minister stopped interfering with the day-to-day running of the force, it would be much better off than it is.