Results 921-940 of 1,591 for speaker:Eugene Regan

Seanad: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission: Motion (10 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: That is a rather perverse argument.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: I wish to add my voice to the unequivocal condemnation of the killings in Northern Ireland. We are all shocked by these events which are a blast from the past and is something we thought we had left behind. The people killed are Mark Quinsey, 23 years of age, Patrick Azimkar, 21 years of age, and Constable Stephen Paul Carroll, 48 years of age, and one can imagine the misery that has been...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: We have a responsibility and there is something we can do about it, both at security and political level.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: I take issue with the suggestion made by Senators Alex White and Norris that the House may be in some way irrelevant. I fundamentally disagree with my colleagues. While the quality of debate in this House may be affected by a lack of information and the obfuscation of Ministers who appear before it, over the past two years Senators, through debates, have highlighted these issues and the...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: I ask Senator Norris not to interrupt.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Seanad has also highlighted the actions of Ministers who have come before us and given glib speeches and have been in denial about issues such as recapitalisation of the banks, the public finances and the need for a new budget. These issues have been exposed by debate in this House. The vetting of legislation, the questioning of Ministers and the opposition provided in the House have...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: Slowly but surely the penny has dropped. It may take time but the Government responds to pressure. We will soon have a mini-budget, on which the Minister for Finance has proposed that the Opposition parties make submissions. The Minister believes this is a clever move. He is, in a sense, playing a trick on the Opposition and he expects it to decline his invitation, but it has not done so....

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Senator is all hot air.

Seanad: Hospitals Building Programme (27 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: A proposal for the redevelopment of the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire was included in the National Development Plan 2007-2013. This was confirmed by the Department of Health and Children on 23 January 2007. No objections were lodged to the application and planning permission for the redevelopment was granted by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on 4 September 2008....

Seanad: Hospitals Building Programme (27 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: The question was very specific and the response was general. It does not throw much light on the subject. The project has gone to tender and tenders have been received. How can this be advanced if a new group is to report on the overall issue of rehabilitation services at the end of the year? Tenders have been received and the matter has now stalled. The Minister of State is saying that...

Seanad: Hospitals Building Programme (27 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: I thank the Minister of State for his reply and that last assurance that matters will progress.

Seanad: Middle East Conflict: Motion (26 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive report. The cross-party motion demonstrates that when the problem is far from this country we can reach consensus while we have difficulty doing so with many of our own problems. Despite the other problems we have in this country, we have an interest in adding our voice to the member states of the EU and the EU itself in trying to foster a...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: We have been presented with the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009 to deal with the pensions levy. It appears the Government is intent on legislating by emergency whenever the opportunity arises. We have done this in regard to the State guarantee scheme and the nationalisation of Anglo Irish Bank and now we are about to rush this legislation through the Houses....

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: ——the Taoiseach stated it was equivalent to asking the Garda to identify the suspects in a particular case. The act in which these people were involved is not similar to an ordinary criminal investigation. The issue of what has happened is known and the persons involved are known. It is not a question of looking for suspects because ten parties have already been identified in...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: It is a question of disclosing the identity of the aforementioned ten parties. This and previous Fianna Fáil-led Governments have hidden behind tribunals of inquiry.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: It is about time the Government treated the Opposition and the public as adults by coming clean with information when it is requested to do so. The Oireachtas could thereby become more relevant and better perform its functions on behalf of the community. We could also move on from the banking crisis to address the real issues that are confronting the economy.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: I ask my colleague to avoid interrupting me.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: In regard to some of the measures to which I have just referred, I ask about the quality and independence of the advice given to the Government. It has been reported in the newspapers that PricewaterhouseCoopers advises and acts as auditor for Bank of Ireland while at the same time advising the Government. Arthur Cox solicitors advises Bank of Ireland as well as the Minister for Finance,...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: This is not quite a situation of a law firm acting for both parties to the same transaction. It is like a law firm acting for the buyer, the seller and the funding organisation——

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Feb 2009)

Eugene Regan: ——in one of the most important transactions in the history of the State. I ask the Leader to refer the matter to the Minister for Finance and that he would request that the Minister, when he is taking legal advice——