Results 901-920 of 2,500 for speaker:Ciarán Cuffe

Road Safety: Motion (Resumed) (17 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I welcome the initiative on the part of Fine Gael and, like the previous speaker, I am interested in finding out what will happen at 8.30 p.m. I would like to think that consensus will be reached on all sides of the House on the spirit, if not the text, of the motion. We can do a great deal in the area of road safety but we need to grasp the nettle. Testing for alcohol at the scene of...

European Union Reform Treaty: Statements (16 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I wish to share time with Deputy Calleary. Together with many members of the Green Party I consider myself to be a proud European and a proud Irish person. I am a friend of Europe and believe that Europe has been a friend to Ireland since we joined the European Economic Community in 1973. We recognise, however, that good friends know when to criticise and when to hold a friend to account....

European Union Reform Treaty: Statements (16 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: There are concerns about this treaty. I have difficulty with the Euratom treaty that gives more money to research in nuclear fission and fusion than to renewable energy. I have grave concerns about the clause in the potential treaty about progressively improving military capabilities and where it might lead us.

European Union Reform Treaty: Statements (16 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: The phrase is "military capabilities".

European Union Reform Treaty: Statements (16 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I am worried that the voice of small nations will sometimes be lost in the power play between the large members of the Union. I would rather that we considered having a bicameral parliament.

European Union Reform Treaty: Statements (16 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: The lower house would be elected on a proportionate basis from the member states, not unlike the American Senate where each country might also have two members in an upper house. This would ensure that the voices of small nations would not be lost and would have a power of veto over future policy. Those are issues to discuss another day. We welcome debate and discussion within our party and...

European Union Reform Treaty: Statements (16 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: From my experience of Europe, travelling through countries like Croatia and Montenegro, I see the EU as a very positive force. Through my occasional work with TACIS, the Technical Assistance to the Commonwealth of Independent States, I have seen a positive role for the European Union over the last ten years.

European Union Reform Treaty: Statements (16 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: As we face the important challenge of climate change, the European Union is a leader on the world stage. My view is to support the treaty, subject to looking at the final draft that may be approved this weekend.

Fire Services: Motion (Resumed) (10 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: Two weeks ago when I was in my office, I heard gasps of shock from next door when my colleague, Senator Déirdre de Búrca, heard the dark news from Little Bray. The grief we felt can never match the loss of loved ones for a family. As a child growing up off Ballyman Lane, Shankill, I could hear the sirens from Bray when the fire services were called out. We always paused to pray and think...

Written Answers — EU Summits: EU Summits (2 Oct 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: Question 300: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs his views on not attending the planned European Union, African Union summit meeting in Portugal scheduled for December 2007, if Mr Mugabe attends also; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21428/07]

Written Answers — Residency Permits: Residency Permits (26 Sep 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: Question 880: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he will review the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) (No.2) Regulations 2006, implementing directive 2004/38/EC which require Regulation 3 (2) Non EU citizen family members to have resided in another EU Member State prior to arriving here to avail of residency rights. [19747/07]

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: It is good to be back in the Dáil and to see things are as lively as ever on the floor of the House. It is also good to see the Green Party is setting the agenda for Fine Gael, as we have done in so many respects for the past ten years. I suspect the U-turn on waste issues in Fine Gael a decade ago had more to do with that party's fears that Dan Boyle would win a seat ahead of Deputy...

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I welcome the opportunity to discuss waste policy but the duty of Government, while being to propose, is also to play a role in informing and debating the issues. Similarly, the Opposition should do more than simply oppose Government policy for the sake of opposition. It should add to the debate about what we do with waste in Ireland. Much of the Opposition's lamentably repetitive and...

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: It would be a sad day if all members of this Government or those who supported it had exactly the same views on the important issues of the day. I take pride in the fact that my views on some of the important issues of the day, such as planning, are often the polar opposite to those of some of the Independent Members, such as Deputy Healy-Rae. I suspect hell will freeze over before I am of...

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I was surprised by Deputy Gilmore's statement earlier that there had been no policy change within this Government. My colleague, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, made it abundantly clear there was a substantial policy issue within this Government and it is at the economic level. I suspect Deputy Gilmore did not spend enough time looking at the...

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I am pushed for time but will take a quick question.

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I will reply briefly to the question. Deputy Quinn knows, possibly better than I, that An Bord Pleanála has a quasi-judicial role and there is no way a Minister can interfere with that.

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: I am surprised at the naivety of such a question from a former Minister.

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: A very clear message has to go out to every local authority official and manager that it would be unwise for any local authority official to put in place a put or pay clause. We do not want to have to pick up the tab for 20 years for an incinerator and that undermines every case for incineration on this island. Incineration is a historic and dated technology that is not the way forward for...

Waste Management: Motion (Resumed). (4 Jul 2007)

Ciarán Cuffe: For the Green Party it has never been a question of a single incinerator. Instead, the issue has been about changing waste policy in the country so that mass burn incineration is not part of the waste hierarchy. The programme for Government makes it abundantly clear the waste hierarchy must be complied with. Only last week in Luxembourg the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local...