Results 67,341-67,360 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: That is tough talk.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Murphy's law.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: We could find ourselves very glad to get a chunk of wood from a tree to throw into the back of a burner or a stove to keep the house warm. In the promotion of the various schemes, which are fine in themselves, we are all agreed it would be very wise to keep the chimney for a variety of reasons, including emergencies, in the event of a cutback in the supplies of fuel. It might always be easier...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The use of road transport for domestic traffic is not environmentally friendly, so the use of railways for rapid transport will be the thing of the future. There will always be cars as we cannot walk everywhere and there are parts of the country that are not served by rail. There are many parts of my constituency that are not served by rail, even though many of the towns are so served. In...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: The only way of paying for it is through importing oil. I cannot understand why someone does not point out how unusual this is.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: That is right. It is a dangerous place over there, by the look of things. It defies logic that trucks, cars and buses should all crawl along at a snail's pace in order to get to the toll plaza to pay for the privilege of going up the other road. Whoever thought of that in the first place must have been a financial genius. There is no bank or financial institution that could give a return on...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I appeal to the Minister to try to ensure something is done about the waste of oil imported into the country at huge cost to the economy and to road users who pay all kinds of taxes for the privilege of using the road. They still cannot get on to the M50 just to park. My time went very quickly. Is the Acting Chairman sure the clock is right?

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I am very sorry about that. I ask the Minister to keep in mind the need for conservation, the need to recognise environmental requirements, the need to ensure we have supplies that are accessible and that nobody else can intervene, especially given that we may have oil stocks stored outside this jurisdiction. In the near future, the people will hopefully rise up, set things right and put...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Hear, hear.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Hear, hear.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Not for the first time.

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: I am glad to have an opportunity to contribute to the debate on this Bill. We have been requesting it for some considerable time on foot of general concerns over fuel and energy over the past 12 months. It has had a longer gestation than we expected, but I am glad it has finally emerged. We welcome it without any shadow of doubt because it gives us an opportunity to talk about the issue with...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Otherwise, our entire supply and transport system will become stuck. Ireland is not the most densely populated in Europe and, as a result, long distances must be covered in terms of deliveries. The very large delivery trucks that deliver to the multiples are evidence of that. They are on the road day and night and if they stop for 24 hours, the consumer will immediately feel the pain through...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Do the Members present remember the three-speed gear boxes that were in cars at that time? They were in trucks as well but especially in cars. I remember asking why there were not four or five speed gears and an engineer told me that such a gear box could not be made. It could be done, however, and it was done. There is no problem with a six, seven, 16, 17 or 20-speed gear box, depending on...

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: That is right. Well, I am coming to hot air. The hot air ones were not so bad at all, but the ones that were serious——

National Oil Reserves Agency Bill 2006: Second Stage. (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: They did, but as regards the houses without chimneys, it was suddenly discovered that when oil supplies became scarce there was a problem. People then had to build chimneys. Houses are now being built without chimneys as well, with an eye to the future. That is a very dangerous thing to do. Serious problems could arise in the event of there being a difficulty with supply for any reason.

Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Hear, hear.

Written Answers — Grocery Industry: Grocery Industry (21 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Question 63: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he has monitored food prices since the abolition of the minimum prices order; if the trend is as anticipated or otherwise; if the consumer has benefited as a result of the abolition of the order; if small retailers or the multiples have gained appreciably in terms of market share in the intervening...

Written Answers — Economic Competitiveness: Economic Competitiveness (21 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Question 86: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he is satisfied that the economy remains sufficiently competitive to enable the manufacturing and service sectors here to compete effectively on European or global markets; if he has identified the contributory causes of inflationary tendencies which might lead to a lack of competitiveness in the future; if he proposes...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (21 Jun 2006)

Bernard Durkan: Question 167: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which decentralisation proposals for his Department or its subsidiary bodies have been achieved to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24119/06]