Results 14,061-14,080 of 14,090 for speaker:Marc MacSharry

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Oct 2003)

Marc MacSharry: Following what Senator Bannon said, it was my intention today to ask the Leader for an urgent debate on planning. Throughout the last session there were several calls for a debate on planning and I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to the House for a good, clear, detailed debate on the issue. There is now a gross level of inconsistency...

Seanad: Order of Business: Motion. - Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (7 Oct 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I join others in welcoming the Minister to the House and I am pleased to contribute to this debate. I also welcome the Bill, which will have positive implications for those citizens affected by the terrible financial consequences of oil pollution of the sea. We have seen the importance of dealing with issues of compensation and civil liability in recent years following the incident involving...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jul 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I join others in asking the Leader for a debate on transport and the penalty points system in the new session. I reject the claims by Senator Ulick Burke that it is a failure of Government on the basis that the penalty points system to date has shown that the number of fatalities on our roads is down by 50 in the year to date. While I regret very much the terrible carnage on our roads at the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Jun 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I thank Senator O'Toole for his support of the comments I made yesterday on planning, specifically in respect of the organisations which are State-funded and which persist in blocking planning. I reiterate what I said yesterday. This is a vitally important issue. If time is available this afternoon, we should use it to discuss the matter. No real preparation is required, as everyone is aware...

Seanad: Military Neutrality: Motion. (25 Jun 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann," and substitute the following: "considering that the Convention on the Future of Europe will shortly be finishing its work on the drafting of a new EU Treaty; acknowledging that the Government has engaged fully with the work of the Convention, including on security and defence matters; acknowledging that, as set out in the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (24 Jun 2003)

Marc MacSharry: Will the Leader arrange for the appropriate Minister or Ministers to come before the House for a detailed debate on the urgent matter of planning and, more specifically, to debate the appropriateness going forward of State funding for organisations, the integrity of which must be called into question? Members know to what I am alluding in this regard. I refer to the organisations which...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Jun 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I agree with the call by my colleague, Senator Ulick Burke, for the Leader to ask the Tánaiste to come to the House to debate the IDA's successes in the BMW region. Since the Government policy was introduced in 1999 the objective of putting 50% of all new projects into the BMW region has been a resounding success. While there have been only seven projects in 2003, we are still in the middle...

Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (10 Jun 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I join other Senators in welcoming the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, to the House – the third Minister today in this debate. I note the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, has to leave to continue his excellent work. I congratulate him and all the Irish team at the Convention on their superb representation at such a critical time in the history of Europe. The Union today is a model...

Seanad: Strategic Rail Review Report: Statements (Resumed). (21 May 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister to the House and in congratulating the Department and Booz-Allen Hamilton on the publication of the review. The review sets out a solid and reliable framework for the development of the rail network over the next 20 years. There is no doubt it is a very comprehensive report. It is clearly the most significant review and rigorous analysis of the...

Seanad: Decentralisation Programme: Statements. (21 May 2003)

Marc MacSharry: This is not a broadcast on behalf of Sligo for decentralisation, but I welcome the opportunity to speak on this issue. I join others in welcoming the Minister of State to the House.

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 May 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I agree with Senator Ormonde in her request for the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, to come before the House to hear statements or, possibly, a debate on the future of Europe. This is a most important period, given that the Convention on the Future of Europe is moving forward. Reports at the weekend about what was said by the chairman of the convention, Mr. Giscard d'Estaing, are, to say the...

Seanad: Road Safety: Motion. (14 May 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister. Road safety is an issue and the fact that, on average, more than one person a day dies needlessly on the country's roads is without doubt unacceptable. All of us have a moral obligation to seriously address this issue as a matter of utmost priority and the Minister has shown and is showing the leadership needed to effectively tackle the problem. Without doubt, the...

Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (16 Apr 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I propose to share my time. As we are all aware, corporate governance is very much a hot topic at present in light of events in this country concerning offshore accounts and various tribunals, and internationally with the Enron scandal and the trouble AIB had with its American subsidiary, Allfirst. How businesses are run is something in which community and investors alike are taking renewed...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 Apr 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, to the House as a matter of urgency to discuss waste management, the single biggest challenge facing Irish society today. As Members will be aware, in recent days reports have shown that there are serious infrastructural deficiencies in handling increased quantities of waste. At the same it...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Apr 2003)

Marc MacSharry: Will the Leader invite the Tánaiste to the House in the light of yesterday's announcement by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and FÁS in regard to the arrangement of work permit procedures and the occupational sectors ineligible for work permits? We need to have the Tánaiste here to debate the issue. While I appreciate what she is trying to do, many sectors are included...

Seanad: Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (9 Apr 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I welcome the Minister and the representatives of RECI to the Visitors Gallery. I commend Senator Higgins for giving us the opportunity to discuss this important issue but as my colleague, Senator Kenneally, has already pointed out, we will not be in a position to support the Bill.

Seanad: Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (9 Apr 2003)

Marc MacSharry: We all have an interest in developing and maintaining an efficient and cost-effective electricity industry which is one which touches every home and business in the State. Electricity bills are a major item in everyone's household budget. Energy bills account for an even greater proportion of industrial and business costs. Furthermore, electricity production and consumption are accepted...

Seanad: Motor Insurance: Motion. (12 Mar 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I join other Senators in welcoming the Minister on one of his ever more frequent visits to the House. In my short time in the House, I have made an effort to speak on the serious issue of rising costs for businesses and consumers. I welcome the opportunity to discuss another facet of this issue – inflated insurance costs.

Seanad: Broadcasting (Major Events Television Coverage) (Amendment) Bill 2003: Second Stage. (5 Mar 2003)

Marc MacSharry: I join colleagues in welcoming the Minister and his officials. I am pleased to have the opportunity to make a few brief points on the Bill which, as we have heard, is primarily designed to amend the Broadcasting (Major Events Television Coverage) Act 1999. I welcome the Bill which will have positive implications for all citizens in terms of free live television access to sports events of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Feb 2003)

Marc MacSharry: Further to Senator Feighan's points relating to the Sligo-Dublin rail line, I am supportive of the points he made. However, I would not feel it necessary to call in the Minister if we requested the Leader to ask the Minister to instruct Iarnród Éireann to put some of the 80 carriages which have been bought, which are bound for the Cork line, on to the Sligo-Dublin line rather than...