Results 8,841-8,860 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2008)

Alex White: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, subsection (3)(b), line 6, after "with" to insert the following: ", or attended a course of instruction or sat an examination for the purposes of seeking to comply with,". Ba mhaith liom fáilte a ghabháil leis an Aire arís as ucht bheith anseo inniu. Bhí díospóireacht suimiúil againn ar an mBille seo níos luaithe. I have tabled a number of...

Seanad: Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2008)

Alex White: I overlooked the fact amendments Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, were being taken together and did not address amendment No. 4 which relates to people who did not sit the Irish examination or who sat it and failed it. It is an attempt to address the situation of people who were excluded from practice because of the compulsory regime in place. It is not putting it too strongly to say that they were...

Seanad: Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2008)

Alex White: I will withdraw amendment No. 1.

Seanad: Legal Practitioners (Irish Language) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Jun 2008)

Alex White: I join Senator Regan in expressing my appreciation to the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív. The Bill benefits from employing that tried and tested means of having matters deemed to be the case, even if they were not in fact the case. I appreciate the approach of the Minister and his officials. This Bill will introduce a more honest and realistic regime in the practice of law through the medium of...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: In order to have any relevance, this House needs to debate the ESRI's recently published quarterly economic commentary. I support, and am happy to second, Senator Fitzgerald's amendment to the Order of Business to provide for such a debate. We are talking about the first recession in this country for 25 years. We are not talking about speculation but about a clear forecast of an increase...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: If Senator O'Malley wishes to read the ESRI report she may not like it, but we are talking about factual material which we need to understand before we can have the debate. The factual material, which is not speculative, points without question to the reality that this is a home-grown recession caused by developments over which this country, and the Government in particular, have substantial...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: We had an opportunity to do otherwise. We had years of self-satisfied, smug commentary from the Government, including from the then Taoiseach, about cranes in the sky, saying that everything was going to be great. We missed the opportunity, however. I want a debate on this report.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: People might not like this but I am entitled to make the point. We blew it in the sense that we passed up the opportunity we had to set down the basis for dealing with a downturn when it came. We did not do that. We simply decided not to do it. We did not fix the roof of the house when the weather was good and now we must face the bad times. Clearly we need an opportunity to debate this...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: A recession.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: Technically?

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Alex White: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: That sounds like what the Senator is doing at the moment.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: It is not a matter of discretion or opinion as to whether the view of the Irish people should be respected or accepted, it is a constitutional imperative that it be so. I regard it as almost something that goes without saying, but I will say it just in case there is any doubt. Of course, one must respect and accept the result of the referendum last week. If it requires to be said, I am...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: As did those in Dublin South.

Seanad: Broadcasting Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: At this relatively late hour I thank the Minister of State for agreeing to reconsider section 116 and I look forward to the product.

Seanad: Broadcasting Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: I support what Senator Norris has said, which raises a much wider debate about the overuse of jail sentences in respect of non-payment of fines across a range of different breaches. Senator Norris is right. For someone to be sent to jail for non-payment of a television licence fee offends against all sense of proportion and justice. There is no basis for it. It is the legacy of another...

Seanad: Broadcasting Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: I also thank the Minister of State for his attention and generosity in the course of the debate. I look forward to the fruits of our discussions turning up on Report Stage. It is important and, broadly, very good legislation. As was said on Second Stage, it replaces 50 years of legislation in broadcasting, which is a massively important area. Very good work has been done on Committee...

Seanad: Broadcasting Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jun 2008)

Alex White: We request they be made available to Members of the House.