Results 1,021-1,040 of 1,451 for speaker:Michael Finucane

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: Yesterday, Senator O'Toole raised the issue of the murder in Mountjoy Prison. It is the second murder in the history of the prison service, the first having been committed in 2000. I want to raise an issue of concern, which is beginning to get out of control. While I am aware of the ongoing debacle between the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Prison Officers' Association...

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: Senator Dardis may feel it is all right to laugh, but I regard this as a serious matter.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: I do not know what the joke is about.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: I know the Minister is a colleague of the Senator's, and I would like him to come to the House to answer questions rather than to make statements. We should be concerned with what is happening in the system.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: Hear, hear.

Seanad: FÁS Community Employment Schemes: Motion. (28 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: I wish the Minister of State could convince the Minister for Finance. In 1998, there were 40,000 participants on the scheme. AnCO and FÁS were the forerunners of this scheme. As a result of the schemes, there was a great growth of community centres in rural areas. Another pattern then followed and many of the schemes became involved in practical activities in towns and villages. My concern...

Seanad: FÁS Community Employment Schemes: Motion. (28 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: I thank Members for their contributions which I followed closely on the monitor. I sought a copy of the Minister of State's speech as I wanted to analyse it in more detail. I do not think he had a speech, which is unusual, as most Ministers come in armed with information. Has he lost interest in this issue? Is he not as concerned about the matter as he was prior to Christmas? This may be an...

Seanad: FÁS Community Employment Schemes: Motion. (28 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: The Minister of State's heart must be in it then.

Seanad: FÁS Community Employment Schemes: Motion. (28 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: I move: "That Seanad Éireann — acknowledging the work undertaken by community groups, throughout the country with the assistance of the FÁS Community Employment Schemes, and the deteriorating economic climate for people who are displaced from community employment schemes who fail to gain access to other work — recognising the deep concern of community, health and sporting organisations...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: We welcome the fact that the long saga of the proposed development of the stadium at Lansdowne Road was brought to an end yesterday. William Shakespeare once said that procrastination is the thief of time and this saga, which has gone on for about five years, is a classic example of that. In that period of time, the proposed Eircom Park was scuttled and the Government influenced a GAA...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: The Leader is being confrontational.

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: Will we sit at the normal time of 10.30 a.m?

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: May I propose that we sit at 10.30 a.m. as Members were expecting to finish on Thursday evening?

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: There was a crisis throughout the world about a year ago as a result of the spread of SARS in Asia. There has been a similar controversy in respect of poultry in recent times, particularly as a consequence of the linking of avian flu and human health. We have seen the wholesale destruction of chickens throughout Asia. I would like to make a few observations about these matters. The European...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: The Minister for Agriculture and Food should come to the House to discuss food safety. Consumers are entitled to know the country of origin of chicken. If the country of origin of chickens which are on supermarket shelves is not known, such chickens should be withdrawn. There is a great deal of concern about what people are eating. Chickens which come from Asian countries are often brought to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: I have raised the necessity for a radiotherapy unit in the Mid-Western Health Board area on previous occasions. More than €6 million has been collected to fund this resource and it would be budget neutral as far as the State is concerned. The unit would treat both public and private patients. A deputation will meet the Minister for Health and Children next week and I trust he will accede to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: You should smile, a Chathaoirligh.

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy. (21 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: I join the Leader in expressing sympathy to the Reynolds family. She indicated that the Reynolds family was steeped in a strong political tradition which straddled more than 75 years. Gerry Reynolds, who succeeded Pat Joe Reynolds, held the seat from 1987 to 2002. I did not know Pat Joe Reynolds, as he preceded my time in the Oireachtas. However, I have heard much about him. He represented...

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Jan 2004)

Michael Finucane: Some time ago the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy McDowell, stated that he was extremely concerned about criminal activity funding a political party. He was referring specifically to Sinn Féin and was basing his concern on Garda intelligence. There is much concern about Sinn Féin and the political network it has built up. Many people appear to be working on a voluntary...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Dec 2003)

Michael Finucane: The two issues I wish to raise relate to the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the first of which is the independent report by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority on insurance costs. Any of us would be shocked, given lower insurance and litigation costs, that the Irish motorist is still fleeced. Given that there are only eight insurance companies in the Irish...