Results 1,341-1,360 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: A Vision for Change: Statements (Resumed) (14 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: When is it proposed to sit again?

Seanad: School Accommodation (14 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister of State, Deputy Cannon, is welcome.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: My attention has been drawn to the very high price the public pays for pharmacy goods here, be they over-the-counter or prescription medicines, compared to what the public pays in other countries. It is due to legislation produced here, not EU legislation. Perhaps the Leader would invite the Minister for Health to the House to discuss this. It is quite confusing that a large number of...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: That is not it.

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I did not have a chance to make a speech on Second Stage, but I will have to avoid making a Second Stage today. It has been very interesting to hear what others have said. I compliment the Minister of State, and although Senator Walsh said she has not gone far enough, she has taken the first step and to do so in such a short time is worthy of consideration. I am not in favour of a price...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: It is joy to hear Senator Eamonn Coghlan speak with such a positive attitude.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I would be glad to hear more of it. I appreciate the manner in which the Leader responded yesterday to the concerns of so many Members in regard to the ordering of business, particularly the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill. To the best of my knowledge, the Minister for Social Protection has not been invited to the House yet.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the opportunity to have a debate on social protection. At a time when we are closing hospitals and having to restrict very severely the amount of money we have to spend, my attention has been drawn to the fact that during the good times during which we needed many emigrants to help us to build the economy, we established a jobseeker's allowance and other allowances that were...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: The principal purpose of this House is to legislate. That is what we did last evening when we debated Committee State of the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011. We had a very interesting discussion during the Second Stage debate on the Bill, particularly in the context of bankruptcy. We were in the middle of the discussion on Committee Stage when the Minister was cut off in...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I request that the Leader make time available, as a matter of urgency, for a debate on what is happening in the Horn of Africa. It is over 160 years since Ireland endured the Great Famine. We blamed others for not assisting us at that time and for not taking action. However, we now know far more about what is happening elsewhere than people did about what was taking place in Ireland in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: On a point of order, may I make the point that Senator Barrett and I appreciate and accept the Leader's very fulsome apology and explanation?

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Food Safety Standards: Statements. (5 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: It is traditional to welcome a Minister on his first visit to the House and I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Shane McEntee. I am in bad humour tonight because we guillotined a Bill in the House in order to discuss food safety. In the past 18 years that I have been in this House we seldom guillotined a Bill, but at 6.45 p.m. we...

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I listened carefully to the Minister's logical contribution on Second Stage when he proposed to reduce the term before an application for discharge from bankruptcy may be made from 12 to five years, having first proposed reducing it to six years. This is a significant advance. I gather the 1998 Act was almost ten years out of date when introduced having been based on a report published in...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: If we are to get the economy right again, we will have to depend on small and medium-sized enterprises. While they are not looking for help, they are looking for a fair deal. I am concerned greatly by the figures published yesterday, which highlight that the State is delaying payments to small and medium enterprises for goods and services that should be paid within 30 days for an average of...

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: This section will permit the Legal Aid Board to grant legal advice to a person who is a victim of human trafficking in the context of an alleged trafficking offence or related offences. This extension of legal aid is welcome but I understand that the Free Legal Advice Centres, FLAC, hope that it might go further. FLAC notes that the section does not extend a right to legal aid, which is the...

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I thank the Minister for his explanation of these amendments. At first, I could not figure out what they related to but they seem reasonable and a reminder of the tricks someone can get up if he or she wants to get around legislation.

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (5 Jul 2011)

Feargal Quinn: We spoke about this topic on Second Stage. I compliment the Minister on the steps he has taken. He expressed concern that the code of practice was not universal and had not been accepted by all bodies. Has there been development on that since last week? I doubt there has been. I have seen codes of practice work very well in the past. This can work very well and, as far as I can see, it...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I extend good wishes to the Deputy Leader on her first day in this new job. I had not realised it was her first day, as it seemed she had been here forever. I am sure the Deputy Leader will be able to perform all her functions. I received a letter the other day, which other Members may have received, from a person whose sister has been missing for 11 years. The letter sets out how his life...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: On a point of order, there has been a conversation going on ever since the Deputy Leader began summing up, which is not good manners.