Results 661-680 of 1,279 for speaker:Michael Ahern
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: I recall that some prominent people in Deputy Durkan's party got into trouble over demanding "hello" money.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: The Deputy could be the court jester.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: The Deputy could definitely be the court jester.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: It has been Government policy to get to the top.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: I apologise on behalf of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Martin, for his absence from the debate. As he is attending talks in Dublin Castle, I will reply on his behalf. I have no doubt Committee Stage will provide an opportunity to discuss all the issues raised on Second Stage. This is as it should be given the importance of this Bill which raises key issues for a...
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: I have read the Deputy's contribution to the debate which bounced around like a pinball. At one point he told us he seeks a pragmatic outcome, namely, lower prices, while in virtually the same breath he informed the House he wishes to protect retailers from aggressive pricing tactics. Perhaps he knows how to reconcile both views but I am unable to do so. Deputy Hogan informed us he has a plan...
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: The Deputy claimed he will support a facility which will allow discounts and rebates to be passed on to consumers rather than putting the money into the pockets of retailers. While this view is commendable, he later rejected the provision of the Bill which will have precisely that effect. The Bill removes the incentive for the trade to operate a system of discounts and rebates in the first...
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: Deputy Hogan is often wrong but sometimes he is no more than a victim of bad timing.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: The Deputy dismissed the views of the dean of the faculty of human and social sciences at Trinity College as those of an academic and well-known opponent of the groceries order and implied derisively that the dean's views are somehow less than objective. It is interesting that the measure of objectivity in this matter is whether one agrees with Deputy Hogan. It is unfair to characterise a...
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: I wish to respond to Deputy Howlin's contribution. The Deputy quoted inflation statistics at some length and delivered them as if he believed they were new to Deputies. Most of the figures he cited are already contained in my Department's report on the groceries order.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: Deputy Howlin told me nothing I did not know already. I suspect he deliberately missed the point.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: The issue is not whether food inflation increases in one year and decreases the following year. It is easy to close the door to the outside world and assume that if food inflation is -1% in a given year, we must be doing okay. We need to compare our rate of inflation against other indicators, for example, if our rate is -1%, the average European Union rate is -2% and the United Kingdom rate...
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: Deputy Howlin also dismissed as irrelevant the argument regarding the comparative rates of inflation in the clothing sector here and in the United Kingdom.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: Again, I suspect he deliberately missed the point. We are told groceries cost more here than in the United Kingdom because we have higher input costs such as rents, wages, insurance and so forth. If such costs are higher here, this will be the case regardless of what product one is selling and, as such, any divergence in the rate of inflation between here and the UK should be viewed across...
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: The fact that they are not falling points to a serious flaw in the Deputy's argument. A factor other than input costs is driving the disparity in food prices between Ireland and the United Kingdom. Deputy Howlin cited evidence given to the Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment by representatives of Aldi and Lidl, in which they indicated they could not have opened in Ireland had...
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: They should build a few grocery stores up there.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: If Fine Gael was in power, Knock Airport would not be in place. The Deputy should give credit where it is due. That is a fact of life.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: The only thing the Deputy has missed is turf-cutting. Will he give us a little about it?
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: That is thanks to Pádraig Flynn and Charlie Haughey.
- Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (1 Feb 2006)
Michael Ahern: To what is Deputy Boyle referring?