Results 8,461-8,480 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jun 2009)

Alex White: I thank the Cathaoirleach for clarifying the position of former Senator Alan Kelly in regard to his election to the European Parliament last night. I spoke to him on the telephone ten minutes before I came into the Chamber and had the opportunity to congratulate him. We were speculating about the precise legal position but the Cathaoirleach clarified it very helpfully. Unfortunately for...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jun 2009)

Alex White: We can continue to work together in this forum to serve the people and to achieve the important objectives we all have.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jun 2009)

Alex White: It is certainly not intended as an explanation and it is a pity that it should be taken up in that way. It is meant absolutely genuinely. There has been a political shift in the past few days and I agree with Senator Fitzgerald that there should be a debate about this. Manifestly, there has been a change politically throughout the country and I am happy to say there has been a marked shift...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jun 2009)

Alex White: And Fine Gael as well.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2009)

Alex White: I strongly agree with what Senator Norris said about the proposed amendment to the Defamation Bill 2006 in relation to blasphemy. The House should take careful note of what has been said by a representative of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe. His comments, which are reported in today's newspapers, were referred to by Senator Norris. I ask this House and the...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2009)

Alex White: Senator Regan is also a member of the all-party committee, which clearly recommended that this provision should be removed from the Constitution. That view is clearly shared across the board in these Houses. That is the correct way to proceed. My suggestion to the Minister, through the Leader, is that if the parties in the Oireachtas agree that a series of amendments to the Constitution...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Apr 2009)

Alex White: I second that proposed amendment. My colleagues are absolutely right about the need for a debate on these issues. Senator O'Toole, when he was speculating about whether the problem is that the Government is trying to censor debate, may be right, but it is more likely that the Government does not know what it would say if such a debate took place. It manifestly has no plan and no basis for...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Apr 2009)

Alex White: The hospitals co-location project that was announced with much fanfare by the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Mary Harney, and her colleagues in Government was buried by measures taken in the recent budget. Now that this project, which involved the folly of relying on the property development sector to deal with the development of health care, is in tatters, like many of the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Apr 2009)

Alex White: The PDs-----

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Apr 2009)

Alex White: Steady on.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Apr 2009)

Alex White: We had to look forward.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Apr 2009)

Alex White: The kind of political reform we need goes a lot deeper than the suggestions that have been made. In the last few days, the Government's handling of the fiasco over long-service increments — I know some Members will have sensitivities about it — has exposed politicians and the political system yet again to the charge that we are living in a parallel universe. We are living in a different...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Apr 2009)

Alex White: I would certainly give a cautious welcome for that. I say "cautious" because I am not clear on how precisely it will be funded or whether the places will be there.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Apr 2009)

Alex White: I would like the Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Barry Andrews, to attend the House for a debate on how we will replace the crazy system we had for funding child care with a serious, comprehensive system of one year's free child care for all children. It appears that the Labour Party's position in the last general election will now be adopted by the Government. I...

Seanad: Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (22 Apr 2009)

Alex White: On my behalf and on behalf of the Labour Party, I join others in conveying our deepest sympathy to the family of Senator Tony Kett, the Cathaoirleach, the Leader and the members of the Fianna Fáil Party who served with him in the House over many years. It is a sad day, as Senator O'Toole said, when we mark the passing of one of our colleagues. It was plain for all to see this morning at...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (1 Apr 2009)

Alex White: I support what Senator Fitzgerald said. Unless it is necessary, nobody wants to hold the Minister of State to precise dates and so on. However, this is a very urgent matter and one of huge concern to many people. The Minister of State indicated that he hopes there will be contact with the Vietnamese or that there will be a trip to Vietnam within days or weeks. Will he indicate which will...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (resumed) (1 Apr 2009)

Alex White: I move amendment No. 51: In page 50, subsection (2), line 7, after "Authority" to insert the following: ", which shall give consent to that information being given where the adopted person and the person placing the child for adoption have agreed through a tracing mechanism to be established by the Authority that the information can be given". This amendment deals with tracing and the need to...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (resumed) (1 Apr 2009)

Alex White: I am happy to withdraw amendment No. 51 on the basis that the Minister of State is willing to examine the matter in advance of Report Stage. I thank him for indicating his willingness to do so. The Minister of State wondered whether I was intending to stymie or alter the discretion of the authority in some way. I am not hung up on that question. If the Minister of State wants to maintain...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (resumed) (1 Apr 2009)

Alex White: I move amendment No. 52: In page 65, subsection (1), between lines 10 and 11, to insert the following: "(d) promoting the development of post adoption services;". The Minister of State anticipated this amendment in his remarks on the previous one. As I understand the Government's position, it is not necessary or it may be too soon to include in legislation provisions on the development of...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2009)

Alex White: Hear, hear.