Results 981-1,000 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Feb 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I will be brief. It is 1,000 days tomorrow since the Construction Contracts Bill was passed by the House. I cannot understand how it takes so long to get things done. We have been told it is to go to Cabinet shortly. We have been told it is ready to go before the other House again but it is so frustrating. A Bill that was introduced in the House to do with presumed consent for organ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Reform of National Micro and Small Business Support Structures: Discussion (5 Feb 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister. The concept of incorporating the local enterprise boards into local authorities is sensible. I have been struck by the number of main streets in towns that have been devastated. The shops and businesses are empty because shopping centres have been built on the edges of towns. Yesterday Sir Terry Leahy commented on the issue and said it was a shame but that the move...

Seanad: The Gathering Ireland 2013: Statements (31 Jan 2013)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister is welcome to the House and the concept of The Gathering is very welcome. It is a great initiative and I congratulate the Minister on it. I grew up in the tourist business. My father ran Red Island holiday camp and from the age of ten I looked after British tourists. Senator Mooney spoke about the difficulty in attracting British tourists but we had 500 guests a week coming...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2013)

Feargal Quinn: Some years ago I was involved in creating sign language classes in the company with which I was involved. I have never seen such a small investment in time and money that was so rewarding. I have just discovered that a school in Douglas in Cork will have to discontinue its sign language classes. As a result, 33 deaf students will lose out. It is such a tiny investment and the benefits are...

Seanad: Water Fluoridation: Motion (30 Jan 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I second the motion. I welcome the Minister of State, who is an old friend of this House. Senator Norris should be commended for introducing this topic. I have two celebrations this weekend. One is my granddaughter's seventh birthday and the other - also on Sunday - will mark my 20th anniversary in this House. I mention this because in my first few weeks, this topic arose and I remember...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Ms Mairead McGuinness, MEP (29 Jan 2013)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome Ms Mairead McGuinness, MEP, to the House and, in particular, the words used by her in her address. I welcome also that she is responsible for the food and agriculture area. We greatly appreciate her work. Ms McGuinness will be aware that I was in charge of euro commerce for a number of years. She is highly regarded by all in business as someone who can wear both hats in terms of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU Scrutiny Report: Discussion with Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (29 Jan 2013)

Feargal Quinn: Mr. Murphy and his colleagues are very welcome. I thank him for the synopsis he has provided. I wish to touch on the question of state aid again. It seems to me that Europe is losing out mainly to Asia in worldwide competition. It could well be because we have quite strict rules about state aid to manufacturing, export or service companies. Is there a danger that because we are sticking...

Seanad: Taxi Regulation Bill 2012: Second Stage (23 Jan 2013)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is welcome and so is this Bill. I would like to see some changes in it, particularly in regard to quantitative control, as referred to by Senator Barrett, as opposed to quality control. Twenty years ago I brought a group of some 1,500 visitors to Ireland for a big conference, everyone staying in five-star bedrooms. Those who came to plan it some months ahead of time...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jan 2013)

Feargal Quinn: Several times in the past I have expressed my concern about wasting paper and the fact that we should be moving towards a paperless society. I draw the attention of the House to Jeremy Hunt, the Secretary of State for health in Britain, who today will announce an NHS development for making patients' records accessible to the patients. He reckons that this will save in the region of £5...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Ireland is one of the few countries in the world that does not have some form of property tax. The big talking point, as Senator Byrne touched on, is how we value property. To me the open market seems the best option but as Senator Barrett explained, it has to be distortion free. It will be a challenge and will probably lead to more debate and legal steps. Senator Barrett's suggestion is...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister whom I have got to know in the past seven years because we sat beside each other at a committee. I regard her highly and know that she listens. Today she will have listened and learned. I have been present for the two and a half hours of this debate and listened and learned. I have listened to the stories told, many of which I knew. Senator Mary Ann O'Brien talked...

Seanad: Equal Status (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is welcome although I cannot say the same for this legislation. It is interesting to note that Ireland, the UK and Spain are the countries believed to be the ones that will be most affected by this ruling because gender-based pricing are most commonly used in them. I would like to know if a cost analysis has been done of this. It was interesting to hear the two...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I want to see this country on its feet again but to do that we will need tough love.  The Minister spoke about how we have managed to rebuild confidence in the economy.  I pointed out on the Order of Business that ¤8.5 billion was invested in this country last year because outside investors have confidence in us.  Social cohesion allowed us to build that confidence. Over the past...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I draw the attention of the House to an American investment company, Franklin Templeton, which invested ¤8.5 billion in Irish bonds last year because its investor, a man called Mr. Hasenstab, decided that he had confidence in Ireland. At a time when those in other countries were saying: "look at what is happening in Europe, we do not have confidence in any of those countries", he said that...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (13 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister is very welcome to the House, because he is one of the Ministers who comes on a regular basis and he gives us the opportunity to say what we have to say, even if some of us are very critical. I welcome the objective of the Bill and what the Minister is trying to achieve. Having listened to Senator Barrett, however, I believe we are going to have to change the system in some way...

Seanad: Youth Work: Motion (12 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Amendment No. 12 is negatived in the Committee of the House and is out of order.

Seanad: Credit Union Bill 2012: Report and Final Stages (12 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Amendments Nos. 5 and 6 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Credit Union Bill 2012: Report and Final Stages (12 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Amendments Nos. 5 and 6 are related and may be discussed together by agreement. Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Shannon Airport: Motion (12 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is very welcome. The development of Shannon Airport on its own has a good chance of winning, but only if everybody gets behind it. I have been in Ireland West Airport Knock on a number of occasions recently and was impressed by the way the people in the area got behind it. When Monsignor Horan started it, people said it would be very risky and would not succeed, but...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Dec 2012)

Feargal Quinn: A few months ago I proposed that we should copy what the French are doing with defibrillators. They have introduced legislation that any company employing more than 50 people should have a defibrillator on the premises with staff trained to use it. A report this week by the Health Research Board shows that if a defibrillator was available in GPs' surgeries, thousands of lives would be...