Results 10,301-10,320 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I too would like to congratulate Deputy Brian Cowen on his election as Taoiseach in this House. Shortly, he will begin the journey to Áras an Úachtaráin to receive his seal of office. It will be a very proud journey for him and his family. It is great that he is joined here today by his mother, his wife, Mary, their two daughters and his family. They are perhaps feeling prouder than he...

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I said earlier that Deputy Cowen is a man of enormous ability and intelligence. I have no doubt that as captain of the team, a team to which he has been very loyal——

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I have had the pleasure of working with him for nearly 11 years as a member of the Government. I have found in Brian Cowen somebody who really understands the constitutional imperative of collective Cabinet responsibility. However, it is not just because it is a constitutional imperative. He is genuinely a team player.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: Deputy Kenny mentioned that in this House on a number of occasions Deputy Cowen has spoken about loyalty being a political virtue. He will bring all of that to the benefit of the new Government of which he will be Taoiseach later this evening. He not only has my good wishes but, I know, the good wishes of the vast majority of the people of this country in the challenging and daunting but no...

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Progressive Democrats, to support the candidacy of Deputy Brian Cowen for Taoiseach. It is generally acknowledged that Deputy Brian Cowen has great intelligence and abilities. He uses those abilities very much to play as part of a team, which has been his hallmark. Notwithstanding his youthfulness — he is the youngest of the candidates...

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: ——the UK or Denmark.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I listened to Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I listened to Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin and I would appreciate if he would listen. That is as a result of better medical interventions. For the first time life expectancy in Ireland is now ahead of the EU average——

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: ——and has increased by three full years, which is the highest improvement in the entire OECD between 1999 and 2005.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: Children in Ireland with cancer have a survival rate that is top of the class worldwide. All our survival rates are improving. More people have free access to their general practitioner than was the case in the 1980s when unemployment was three times higher than it is today.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I know people do not want to listen to the facts, but these are the facts. Some 400,000 more people are being treated in our hospitals today than was the case a decade ago.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: This Minister for Finance has been hugely supportive as a team player working with me as Minister for Health and Children.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: Deputy Brian Cowen's experience goes way beyond the four Ministries in this country. When he was Minister for Foreign Affairs during Ireland's Presidency of the EU he advanced, promoted and succeeded in getting agreement from the EU that there would be no unilateral intrusion of borders between Palestine and Israel. That was a very significant agreement, agreed in Tullamore I understand....

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: He will use not just his abilities but also his capacity to make tough decisions. In Deputy Cowen we have somebody who is capable of making the right decision——

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: ——standing by it and defending it. That is particularly important at a time when we have enormous challenges and pressures——

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: ——particularly from the differing circumstances arising in the international economic environment, I remind Deputy Sheehan. Today is obviously a very happy time for Deputy Brian Cowen and his family. I know they are here in the environs of this House. Although he is the youngest of the three candidates, he has enormous political insights and a great vision for the country in which he...

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: ——in equity and in ensuring that the resources this country can make available are made available to those who need them most. It is a great pleasure for me and my colleague Deputy Grealish to support the candidacy of Deputy Brian Cowen.

Nomination of Taoiseach (7 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I very much look forward to his election as Taoiseach later this afternoon.

Written Answers — Medical Cards: Medical Cards (1 May 2008)

Mary Harney: I propose to take Questions Nos. 66 and 81 together. At present, medical cards are granted primarily on the basis of means and individual circumstances. Under the Health Act, 2004, determination of eligibility for medical cards is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive. Persons aged seventy years and over are automatically entitled to a medical card, irrespective of means. The...

Written Answers — Community Pharmacy Services: Community Pharmacy Services (1 May 2008)

Mary Harney: The Health Service Executive (HSE) have been reviewing the pharmaceutical supply chain, from manufacturers and wholesalers through to community pharmacists, with a view to seeking value for money in the State's drugs bill, consistent with patient safety and continuity of supply. In the context of the above, the Executive is the appropriate body to consider the issues raised by the Deputy. My...