Results 121-140 of 446 for speaker:Niall Blaney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with All-Ireland Cancer Research Institute (23 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: We have an engagement with representatives from the All-Ireland Cancer Research Institute, AICRI. I extend a very warm welcome to: Professor William Gallagher, University College Dublin; Professor Mark Lawler, Queen's University Belfast; Professor Maeve Lowery, Trinity College Dublin; Ms Eibhlin Mulroe, CEO, Cancer Trials Ireland; and Mr. Aidan McCormick, chair, Northern Ireland Cancer...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I raise the situation we now face on this island in relation to the protocol and the situation we were sprung into at the weekend by former Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he put himself into the equation. It is important that Members of the Upper House and the Lower House stand strongly together on this issue because we need to find a mechanism on this island to move on with the EU. What...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Ms Liz O'Donnell (16 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome Ms O'Donnell. It is great to see her and get the insight she has. It is quite an insight, all 12 pages of it. It is a precise recollection of her memories of that time. Senator Currie and I were adamant in doing this piece of work. As Ms O’Donnell has outlined, given the difficulties that have arisen as a result of the Good Friday Agreement and the situation today, if we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The Economic and Social Benefits of the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement: IBEC (9 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome Mr. O'Brien, Ms Gallagher and Mr. D'Arcy. It is good to have them present. I commend them on their approach to the Good Friday Agreement. The business perspective is very important to have a joined-up approach on an all-island basis. It is fresh. The reality is business in this country and in particular in Northern Ireland has led politics. A lot of business people have been...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The Economic and Social Benefits of the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement: IBEC (9 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I mentioned County Tyrone because if we consider the past 50 years and see how the island has developed, for example, as regards motorways, the A5 was never touched, and rail was lost and is not part of the island. County Tyrone, however, has become this powerhouse. Most infrastructure west of the River Bann, from a Northern Ireland perspective, is very weak but County Tyrone stands out as...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I concur with the sentiments expressed by Senator Ó Donnghaile regarding the protocol. I rise today to deal with the tragedy, of which we are all aware, that took place in Creeslough in Donegal last October where many lives were lost. I have been contacted by numerous people over the past 24 hours about a documentary that is due to go out tonight on TG4. It is causing an awful lot of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I wish everyone a happy St. Brigid's Day. I thank my female colleagues for taking on this campaign and being responsible for achieving a bank holiday that we will have from next Monday on. I raise the issues of the legacy Bill, the Bill of Rights and the protocol Bill currently before the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. The situation we face with the legacy Bill is an especially...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Sir John Major (26 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: I also extend a warm welcome to Sir John Major. We are delighted to have him here today. The architects of the Good Friday Agreement giving evidence is a very important piece of work. While some may argue that Sir John was not an architect of the Good Friday Agreement, he certainly set the foundation stones along with Albert Reynolds and John Bruton. His presentation today was quite...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Sir John Major (26 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: I will conclude by saying I had the pleasure of being in the audience when Sir John was in Longford, roughly four years ago, when he gave a talk on his relationship with Albert Reynolds and it was quite an engagement on the day. The background and the talk he gave that day was really impressive. I am delighted to meet him again and will pass to my colleague, Deputy Brendan Smith.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Sir John Major (26 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: Before we move on, I just wanted to say that I met the former Taoiseach, Mr. Bertie Ahern, this morning and he asked me to pass on his regards to Sir John.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Wally Kirwan, H.E. Dr. Eamonn McKee and Dr. Martin Mansergh (19 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: Deputy Brendan Smith will not be attending.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Wally Kirwan, H.E. Dr. Eamonn McKee and Dr. Martin Mansergh (19 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Chair. We should invite Mr. Kirwan back some day, off the record, to get an in-depth outline of all those stories he has from years gone by and the experience he has had over the years in meeting many key people who helped build our current peace process. I offer sincere thanks to Mr. Kirwan, Dr. Mansergh and Dr. McKee for the work they have done over the years, along with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Wally Kirwan, H.E. Dr. Eamonn McKee and Dr. Martin Mansergh (19 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: It is also a very good answer. I recognise what Dr. McKee said about economic equality. I spent two days in Belfast last week and in unionist and nationalist areas it is very obvious that governance on the ground and politics are not working given the amount of deprivation, unemployment, the sense of being lost and people having no sense that politicians will get them out of the current...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Wally Kirwan, H.E. Dr. Eamonn McKee and Dr. Martin Mansergh (19 Jan 2023)

Niall Blaney: Given Dr. McKee's portfolio over the years and the role the United States has played in the past, how important is the relationship with the US? In more recent times, since the Good Friday Agreement, we have taken that relationship for granted. Given the damage the legacy Bill being driven through in Westminster will have, how important is that relationship? What role does Dr. McKee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Gerry Adams (15 Dec 2022)

Niall Blaney: I welcome Mr. Adams. In recognition of what some of the other speakers have said, we cannot but think of Martin McGuinness today as well. We certainly would love to have had him alongside Mr. Adams today to hear his view on how things have evolved over the past almost 25 years. We could argue the ins and outs of elements of his statement. Some of it I will agree with and some I will not....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. Gerry Adams (15 Dec 2022)

Niall Blaney: In the same context, would Mr. Adams agree that seven years for decommissioning was quite a long period of time? On reflection, does he feel that it had any impact on the setting up of the institutions, or the failure to do so?

Seanad: Appointment of Ordinary Members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin: Motion (14 Dec 2022)

Niall Blaney: I move: That Seanad Éireann, noting that the Government on 13th December, 2022, nominated Mr. John Curran, Ms. Maura Quinn, Mr. Alex Attwood and Professor Caroline Fennell for designation by the President to be ordinary members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin, recommends that, pursuant to section 9(9) of the Electoral Reform Act 2022, Mr. John Curran, Ms. Maura Quinn, Mr. Alex...

Seanad: Appointment of Ordinary Members of An Coimisiún Toghcháin: Motion (14 Dec 2022)

Niall Blaney: Fianna Fáil supports this motion recommending the appointment of four candidates nominated by the Public Appointments Service to the board of An Coimisiún Toghcháin. An coimisiún is scheduled for establishment in early January 2023, which is welcome. It must be established as a matter of priority to facilitate the review of Dáil constituencies in line with our...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Niall Blaney: I wish to convey apologies on behalf of Deputy Brendan Smith who is not around today. There is a vote in the Seanad Chamber bit I think there is enough cover and this debate is too important for me to leave. I thank Mr. Bruton for his contribution and for the work that he has done as Taoiseach of this country. I thank him for the preparatory work he did during his tenure as premier of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Mr. John Bruton (8 Dec 2022)

Niall Blaney: Yes.