Results 1,101-1,120 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Today was a good day for the Seanad. It was particularly rewarding to hear the speeches made by the various parties. We enhanced our reputation and I believe this is a first step that will be followed by others in the same direction. Mr. Drew Nelson referred to working with Tourism Ireland. Here is a real opportunity to work together. My father came from County Down and he often claimed...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: My attention was drawn some years ago to the very large number of road deaths occurring in Ireland. I am delighted to say the number has decreased dramatically in the past ten years. My attention was also drawn recently to the European Commission website on road safety and its section on travelling abroad reminds people travelling to different parts of Europe to stay within the law. There...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee Bill 2012: Second Stage (21 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I was not aware of that. I would like to take credit for it even if I am two months late. I draw attention of the Minister of State to the US small business innovation research, SBIR, scheme. I think we could learn from it. It came into being in 1982 and obliges all US federal agencies to set aside a small percentage of research projects to procure research from SMEs. It particularly...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee Bill 2012: Second Stage (21 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I apologise for interrupting but is there a copy of the Minister of State's speech available?

Seanad: Credit Guarantee Bill 2012: Second Stage (21 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State and the Bill. I am delighted the Minister of State, who has responsibility for SMEs, is taking the Bill. Over recent years I went around the country visiting retailers and others and discovered an assumption that they could not get a loan. In the first few years, I found that if they put forward a strong proposal, money was available and it could be granted....

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The good news is that last night the Construction Contracts Bill passed through Second Stage in the Dáil. I mention this as it is a Bill that was initiated in the Seanad over two years ago. It now goes to the Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform. Although that is not our baby, anything we can do in the next couple of weeks to get that Bill into that sub-committee and then...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (20 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I do not understand the thinking behind having a constitutional convention but excluding from that convention a discussion on the Seanad, at a time when there is a proposal that the Seanad be abolished. If the Seanad is abolished there will be at least 70 changes to the Constitution. How can there be a constitutional convention and shortly afterwards a change be made that was not discussed...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (20 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: He is.

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (20 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The point we are making is not merely about whether we should have a second House but about whether that debate should take place in the constitutional convention. It seems to make sense that it should. I offer a second example, one that was quite dramatic and which a number of us will remember. I forget how many years ago it happened but a proposal had gone through the Dáil that public...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I refer to the national procurement service and the control it exerts over public bodies in the seeking of tenders. Last month, three local authorities, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, South County Dublin and Fingal county councils, were criticised for awarding a €750,000 contract for the supply of library books to a British company. While the reasons for awarding the contract are...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (14 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister back to the House. He has become very fond of us in recent days. Senator Barrett has set out his concerns in regard to this amendment very well. I am not quite sure the amendment would solve all the problems to which he referred, but it is a step in the right direction. Senator Barrett referred to the observation by one of the visiting troika officials that the...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (14 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: It has been very good to have the Minister in here and the interest he has taken in this Bill. The fact we proposed an amendment at this Stage recognises the work he has done. He has explained it very well and I really appreciate it. I would also like to say that there is a competition tonight at 8 o'clock and he is the only Minister who is wearing green. I am delighted to see that.

Seanad: Euroscience Open Forum 2012: Statements (14 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I was delighted to hear the views expressed by the Minister of State. I have a vested interest in this matter because two years ago I received a telephone call from the chief scientific adviser, Professor Cunningham, who asked me to serve on the group which put together the bid. I assumed when he contacted me that he was aware of my great skills in science. I was fortunate to have had a...

Seanad: Seanad Report on the Rights of Older People: Statements (13 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State and I thank Senator Norris for sharing his time. I know that Older and Bolder is concerned about the national positive ageing strategy and the Minister of State referred to it as "forthcoming". The organisation is concerned whether it will happen this year. A commitment was given. Will it be implemented this year? I listened to her presentation and read it...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Second Stage (13 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister and the Bill. As an employer, I initially and sceptically questioned whether it was wise legislation. I used to entrust new employees with responsibilities that I would not have given them had I known their histories. One person had a bad history, but we did not check up on it. As an employer, I would have liked to have known whether employees had records. Having...

Seanad: Business Undertakings (Disclosure of Overpayments) Bill 2012: Second Stage (13 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister to the House. I find Senator Mullen's Bill to be very interesting. He aimed at something for which he believes there is a need. I think there is a need for it. I would like to tell a story that happened in my company many years ago, as the Minister spoke about a supermarket and small trader a few minutes ago. There was a farmer supplying us with potatoes for a year...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Last week it was announced that protected geographical indiction status, PGI, was being allocated to Lough Neagh eels. I say this with pride because my maternal grandfather was an eel fisherman on Lough Neagh. The reason I mention this is that I have discovered that more than 50 foodstuffs in Britain, including the Cornish pasty, have obtained PGI status. Only four have been allocated such...

Seanad: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State is welcome. It was a joy to listen to her speak and also a joy to listen Senator Keane who has a great deal of experience in this area. I have met her in Rathfarnham where she is actively involved in a committee. I have had an interesting morning. I attended the business improvement district conference that took place in the Westbury Hotel. A great deal of work is...

Seanad: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: He is very good. Dublin City Corporation alone has 6,000 employees, half of whom are administrative, that is, they do not work in the fire services or the libraries and nor are they street cleaners. Red tape under this bureaucracy can also be bad for business. With local government reform I would like to see, like many others, the planning process streamlined. The process of making an...

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Jun 2012)

Feargal Quinn: Last week the European Court of Justice ruled on MasterCard's multilateral interchange fee. This is quite an important decision but has not received much attention. It applies only to cross-border transactions but its effect startled me. It will mean a reduction in costs to European consumers - solely for cross-border transactions - of €25 billion per year. The court ruled the...