Results 1,361-1,380 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (30 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister to the House.

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (30 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: It is a delight to find a Minister who hits the ground running, comes into office and states he will get things done. It is quite novel to come up with a civil law (miscellaneous provisions) Bill where one lumps so many matters together and the Minister has done so with an ability to get them passed quickly. I encourage him to continue doing that. Numerous matters were covered by the...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I add my voice to the congratulations that have been extended on the birth of baby Finn Cullinane. I am not sure if the name was chosen because it rhymes with "Sinn". I congratulate Senator Cullinane, his wife and his parents. I join others in expressing concern about rushed legislation. It is something we have to avoid. We should never do this. Legislation has been rushed in the past....

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: The leaving certificate applied programme is particularly close to my heart. It got very little attention when the media concentrated on the leaving certificate examinations in recent weeks. The leaving certificate applied programme identifies intelligences that are not measured in a traditional academic way. It is not getting enough publicity or worthy attention. It enables a large number...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: On a point of order, I am concerned that the Leader has stated he has received instructions. I understood this was a House of the Oireachtas.

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: We cannot take instructions.

Seanad: Whistleblower Legislation: Motion (29 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I second the motion. I express my appreciation to Senator Mullen for tabling this motion as it is a topic that needs to be discussed and one that is worthy of debate. I note the amendments which add to the debate. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is quite a long time since he was a Member of this House when we worked together. I have some experience of a whistleblower....

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I am not sure what I am about to second, but I believe it is Senator David Norris's proposal? Will the Cathaoirleach explain exactly for what Senator David Norris called because Senator Paschal Mooney-----

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: There is no amendment.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Am I correct in understanding Senator Paschal Mooney proposed an amendment to it? I am sure I heard him propose an amendment.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: For many years in this House we avoided the imposition of the use of the guillotine, although not totally, but there have been very few exceptions. I would hate to find that on the occasion of the debate on the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill the Government is determined to impose the use of the guillotine to ensure the debate will conclude at 5.45 p.m. in order to discuss the matter of...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: My question to him is how are we going to solve the problems we face. The answer is in our own hands. I ask the Leader to facilitate a debate on the report of the National Competitiveness Council entitled, The Costs of Doing Business in Ireland 2011, issued today. It reminds us that while we have brought down our costs, some of them are not within our control. The price of fuels which...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Yes. I would like to be able to debate that issue also. During an emergency, if a national army finds that 5,000 of its voluntary recruits leave to join another army for whatever reason, it is correct that it cannot allow a blind eye to be turned to this. While I understand the difficulty, it is a difficult situation to deal with. We have a national army and must recognise that it has...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Yesterday Senator Kathryn Reilly asked for a debate on food labelling and the Leader said it will be held in a couple of weeks. The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has points to make, but not only on food labelling, from which we can learn. A debate is to take place on raw milk legislation over the weekend at the Totally Tipperary food festival. Such legislation is to be introduced in...

Seanad: European Affairs: Statements (22 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State. Having listened very carefully to what he said today, I am delighted by his appointment and his enthusiasm and effort. I am sure I am older than every other Member here. I left university in the 1950s. The day after I finished my last exam, I travelled to the Continent and spent the winter there. I believed I was a republican and a Nationalist but when I...

Seanad: European Affairs: Statements (22 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I am very impressed with her and I listened to what she had to say. She directed me to Mario Monti's article in yesterday's edition of the Financial Times which is worthwhile reading for anyone who has not read it. It is a reminder that the 2020 strategy will not work unless we work very hard at it. We need discipline to ensure these measures succeed. We can make it work but we must be...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: Over 1,100 people will participate in the World Transplant Games, which begin in Gothenburg in Sweden tomorrow. Some 33 Irish recipients of body organ transplants will be involved in the games. I am sure we all wish them every success. I mention the games because almost three years ago, this House considered the Human Body Organs and Human Tissue Bill 2008, the objective of which was to...

Seanad: Fair Deal Nursing Home Scheme: Statements (Resumed) (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I would like to share my time with Senator Mullen.

Seanad: Fair Deal Nursing Home Scheme: Statements (Resumed) (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I thank the Minister of State for her words on this scheme and it was interesting to hear them. I did not know much about nursing homes, but my mother-in-law went into one last year. It was the last year of her life and she died last month at the age of 101 and a half years. We were counting half birthdays by that stage. While she was not involved in the fair deal scheme, I was impressed...

Seanad: Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Jun 2011)

Feargal Quinn: I was impressed by Senator Jim Walsh, who spoke from the heart about his concerns that if we do not manage to get our economy right we will implode. There is little doubt that to achieve this we must be competitive. We have not been competitive; we really lost the run of ourselves in recent years. I have told the story before of going to Dundalk and meeting two butchers who were losing...