Results 12,441-12,460 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: Okay. I recently got a Giorgio Armani overcoat from a charity shop which we valued at about €2,000. It was Multiple Sclerosis Ireland. I had given them a donation and they told me there was something in the back of the shop in which I might be interested, which they had priced at €50. I know many people from various walks of life, and some professional people who have experienced...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: Certainly so far. The Senator is on probation.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: On a point of order, it is certainly a tradition, if not part of the order of this House, that the office of presidency is exempt from comment, particularly unfavourable comment. As someone who stood in that election, I must say we could not possibly have a greater or more gracious President than the current incumbent. I do not believe for one minute it was RTE that got him in.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: I hope there will be some degree of flexibility. There is just a little of casuistry in what the Minister said about the affordable housing scheme not qualifying for an exemption. While it may well be true that this scheme was intended to assist people, it has not and has actually placed many in difficulties. Those in the scheme are in possession of properties which are not worth anything...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: I agree with my colleague. One must be sympathetic to companies which are in serious difficulties or whose affairs are being administered by NAMA. However, the principle the Minister of State enunciated is that they are deriving no financial profit.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: If one puts aside the question it was never occupied, I am not sure that in the current circumstances it could be argued that persons in affordable housing derived a profit. They did not. In fact, they received a financial disadvantage because they were seduced by advertising and by a campaign. I was well aware of it because I had a number of friends, and, in fact, I think a distant member...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: I was well aware of the fact that there was a sustained advertising campaign which stated it was to their advantage. The argument the Minister of State has advanced, that one should exempt companies because they derive no financial advantage from it, should also extend to those who got affordable housing. Whereas it was originally envisaged that they would receive a financial advantage, in...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: The Sinn Féin German was not convincing in the Dáil.

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (7 Dec 2011)

David Norris: I strongly support the amendment as it addresses the position of very vulnerable people. The Minister of State was present when I made similar points on Second Stage. In particular, I addressed myself to the issue of the affordable housing schemes under which houses, homes or apartments were made available to people, including many who were in very valuable professions such as nurses,...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Second Stage (6 Dec 2011)

David Norris: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I understand the necessity for gathering taxes. I assume that this tax goes to directly to local authorities to discharge their functions. I agree with the comments of some of my colleagues and they have made sensible points. I would have made them myself. One tends to be happier if one is charged for a specific service. I have never had any...

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Second Stage (6 Dec 2011)

David Norris: That does not leave a great deal of time. Will all the remaining Stages be taken tomorrow?

Seanad: Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011: Second Stage (6 Dec 2011)

David Norris: It will be still possible to table amendments subsequently.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2011)

David Norris: The Leader played a significant and constructive role on the debates on the defamation legislation. He will recall that the Government at that stage promised to introduce a privacy Bill to balance out the Defamation Bill. I am glad to note the Privacy Bill 2006 is No. 12 on the Order Paper. In light of the previous debates in which both the Leader and I took part, will the Leader inform...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Dec 2011)

David Norris: Could the Leader give us an update on the implementation of the European regulation concerning agency workers? I am concerned about this. I believe in fair treatment for all workers but this seems to be a bizarre situation where agency workers immediately get the same treatment as those who have been working for a considerable time. At a time of economic stringency, this is a rather...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I ask the Leader to arrange a general debate on economic and financial matters. In the past, I criticised the previous Government for dithering. We now have a Government that has unprecedented control over every single organ and lever of Government and power, yet we have the same kind of dithering, which I find astonishing. The Taoiseach indicated he would address the nation. This would be...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I am asking for a debate on this. These are the most fundamental issues. The tragedy is that Washington and the Vatican intervened in a most significant experiment in Nicaragua, where a Government which was partly composed of Roman Catholic priests - idealistic people from the liberation theology movement - was trying to meld together elements of capitalism with incentives and the social...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I share the concern expressed by Senator O'Brien about the absence of any person nominated to the position of Minister of State responsible for housing and tackling homelessness. That problem is deteriorating and there is no doubt there will be deaths again this winter as a result of homelessness, particularly if we have the severe weather we had last year. The Government's response has not...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2011)

David Norris: This goes back to the well known Murdoch cliché about sausages, in that people who like sausages might not like them quite so much if they saw the process by which they are made. That is very insulting to the public as there is an insinuation that the Murdoch media regards them as pigs, which can be disposed of and turned into sausages. There is a remarkable-----

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Nov 2011)

David Norris: I am asking for a general examination of the media. An editorial from last weekend argues that it is improbable that the public's hunger for intrusive personal knowledge will diminish. That is exactly right and I am well aware of it. A couple of Sundays ago I was in my local newsagents and saw a woman coming hot from the church who bought a newspaper, the front page of which reported on a...

Seanad: Address by Dr. Mary Robinson (24 Nov 2011)

David Norris: Hear, hear.