Results 12,781-12,800 of 14,090 for speaker:Marc MacSharry
- Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Mar 2013)
Marc MacSharry: I thank the Acting Chairman for her indulgence.
- Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Mar 2013)
Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister to the House, as always. We in Sligo have grave reservations about the report of the Constituency Commission and the Bill. While I appreciate that the practice has become the automatic acceptance of the recommendations of the independent Constituency Commission, I recall that a former Taoiseach said Governments should not be bound by independent commissions or...
- Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Mar 2013)
Marc MacSharry: The Minister might get someone nearer. Senator Michael Comiskey, who is sitting beside the Minister, might like to be the man who is nearer.
- Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Mar 2013)
Marc MacSharry: At a minimum, the proposed constituency name must be changed to "Donegal-Cavan-Sligo-Leitrim", or whatever. One cannot do that to people. It is simply wrong. That point made, Fianna Fáil reserves the right to table amendments on Committee Stage. On the broader electoral reform agenda, I realise that we are waiting for an independent commission to interpret the new local election areas. I...
- Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Second Stage (5 Mar 2013)
Marc MacSharry: Of course population comes into play, but is the Minister, an educated man, saying to me with straight face that 32,000 people in Leitrim require 18 councillors while 65,000 people in Sligo can survive on the same number while coping with the challenges of supporting the ninth largest urban centre in the State? If he is, he must examine that. Term of reference No. 5, in particular, clearly...
- Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2013)
Marc MacSharry: We will not be opposing the Order of Business. As the Deputy Leader may be aware, yesterday the Fianna Fáil Party launched a document, Actions Speak Louder than Words: A Structural Approach to a Societal Issue, which is a set of proposals for structural reform and resourcing of a strategy for suicide prevention. We welcome that the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, has welcomed the...
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: When people from communities such as Annagry and Dunkineely come to the constituency office of the Minister of State and ask him about paragraph 6.4 on page 28 of the Fine Gael manifesto dealing with enhanced community policing, will his response be that the Fianna Fáil Party blew the boom and it is all its fault? That is the reason for the drop in the polls. People are sick of that...
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: Sadly, the Minister for Justice and Equality is not present.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: In essence we have more aggravated burglaries than we ever had in the history of the State. In that large area from Ballina in north Mayo to Ballisodare in Sligo, there are eight gardaÃ, one car and one sergeant. That sounds very good but at any one time there are two gardaà on duty. There are aggravated burglaries and in one instance, a man left his wife in the house while he went to...
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: Will the Chair indulge me for 30 seconds? Aggravated burglaries are happening all over the country.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: Even if they were planning to replace people----
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: The Minister spent 40 minutes reading out a speech we heard weeks ago.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: It is an important point to make. The reality is that we are not getting increased numbers of gardaà on the ground. We have fewer members of the force on the ground. From the people whom I know in the Garda SÃochána, morale is at an all-time low. We have heard the story of the detective unit in Cavan, in which the six detectives have no car between them. In Sligo, there is one car to...
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: ----or in Dalkey. One is not comparing like with like. When the Minister of State goes out to Carrick or Glencolmcille looking for votes let him tell the people that No. 6.4 in the Fine Gael manifesto is a fabrication and a lie.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: Tell the lady who was tied up in her house----
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He is always welcome but we and many other Senators would have preferred if the Minister had chosen to attend. My party has submitted a freedom of information request on the Minister's diary for today to find out where he went this afternoon. If he attended a European meeting then it would not be such a secret. It is unfortunate that he could...
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: It is important that we can make necessary points and my party will do so.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: When the Minister was here on the last occasion he read the same speech as the Minister of State.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: Yes, not as well as Deputy McGinley.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Marc MacSharry: Is there a problem?