Results 81-100 of 437 for speaker:Niall Blaney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (25 May 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank all the deputation from Glencree for their attendance. They are most welcome. I apologise for being late but I had to attend the Dáil to attend tributes paid to the late Noel Treacy, who was the first Chair of this committee. It is fitting that we keep him in our minds today because he was the ultimate republican who was very much behind the work that went on, as it does...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (25 May 2023)

Niall Blaney: I agree but those are things that need to happen at a macro level. There needs to be engagement between Government, including with Stormont and Stormont needs to be in place. In the meantime, how can we actively engage? I am thinking about the need to engage more with unionism. We have been in places like Ballymurphy and Springhill. We do not have massive engagement from unionists....

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Mr. Bertie Ahern, Former Taoiseach (23 May 2023)

Niall Blaney: Ba mhaith liom chur fáilte agus buíochas don iar-Thaoiseach, Bertie Ahern. It is very fitting that he is here today of all days, the anniversary of the holding of the referendum on the Good Friday Agreement. I am delighted to get the opportunity to thank him for all that he has done, not just in those crucial weeks but in all of the negotiations that took place before then. One...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 May 2023)

Niall Blaney: I fully support my Donegal colleague, Senator Flynn. The way she was treated last night was atrocious. I congratulate her for using her power this morning to highlight it. She is absolutely an equal Member of this House. I want to talk about the A5 route. With the N2, this is part of the Dublin-Derry route. There is an ongoing saga regarding the A5. It is the last route in Ireland of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Engagement with Department of the Taoiseach (27 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the witnesses for being here. It is great to get sight of the work they do, not just the projects but also the research. I am sick to my teeth hearing there is no planning going on in this country about how we share this island. I am delighted there are 20 reports out there already. I look forward to many more coming on board. Without that research, conversations are a waste of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Engagement with Department of the Taoiseach (27 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: She is picking on you again, Chair.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Engagement with Department of the Taoiseach (27 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: I have one point that arose when Ms O'Donoghue talked about the need for a cross-Border initiative where students are able to cross both ways. One issue that comes up a lot at the moment is kids from the South going to the North. Regarding the subjects that funding is available for, there are many subjects out there that some kids have to go to the North for more than other people down...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Departmental Programmes (26 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House this morning. To reiterate what my colleague, Senator Robbie Gallagher, has just said about this fund, this is probably one of the funds from that we get great value for money. This is not just from the point of view of sport, but also for the well-being of the people of our nation across the board. It is not just sporting people;...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Departmental Programmes (26 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: I recognise the work the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, have had to do on the sports capital programme. I hope there is an urgency in that work and that the Minister will act with urgency in getting the funds through and giving the Minister of State the go-ahead. I hope there are no more holdups on either side.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Enrolments (26 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome the students from St. Lawrence College from Loughlinstown to the Gallery.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Defibrillators Provision (20 Apr 2023)

Niall Blaney: Absolutely, Minister of State. We can all agree with that.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Waiting Lists (30 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: Senators Gallagher and Conway are sharing time. I call Senator Gallagher to commence.

Seanad: Location of Victims' Remains: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: I move: “That Seanad Éireann: recognising that: - there were nineteen people who ‘disappeared’ as a result of paramilitary organisations during the Troubles/Conflict; - of these nineteen, to date fourteen of the victims have been recovered, with five still missing; - Lisa Dorrian who disappeared in 2005 and Gareth O’Connor who disappeared in 2003 are...

Seanad: Location of Victims' Remains: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: I was not expecting to conclude so quickly. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to the conclusion of the debate. We had a good discussion with the Minister and he has acceded to the request to reopen and review the case by meeting the families concerned. We are delighted with that news. To refer to the speech made by Senator Currie. There is something rotten that...

Seanad: Location of Victims' Remains: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Lord Empey (9 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: Lord Empey is very welcome in joining us here today. I am delighted to see him with us as probably the last contributor to this series in relation to the architects of the Good Friday Agreement. At the outset, it is really important we put on record the contribution of Lord Empey, his then leader David Trimble, who sadly is no longer with us, and his party in what they did in achieving...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Lord Empey (9 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: Lord Empey mentioned the Omagh bombing. Could I ask him about that briefly? How difficult a period was the seven years of decommissioning and what consequences did it have for him and his party?

Seanad: Good Friday Agreement and Windsor Framework: Motion (8 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Minister of State for joining us this evening for Sinn Féin's Private Members' motion. I will start by saying that Fianna Fáil welcomes this debate. We agree with all four aspects of the motion as stated. We compliment Senator Ó Donnghaile and his party for the considered approach that has been taken in the motion to its context and, moreover, the approach the...

Seanad: Rail Network: Statements (23 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome the Minister here to have this discussion on the rail network and, moreover, the all-island rail review. Following the formation of Government and the announcement of an all-island rail review, as party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, I went to Derry and met with the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party, SDLP, Colum Eastwood. We discussed this on the back of that....