Results 1,401-1,420 of 7,123 for speaker:Mary O'Rourke

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: —— would be the very people who would be howling if that were the case. I do not know about other Senators but I believe prisons are needed. I was nonplussed as the debate went on. I could not understand what we would do if there were no prisons. What would we do with murderers and all the people who commit dreadful crimes?

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: There was a general debate——

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: The Senator should let me continue.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: I want to be clear about what I said, namely, that the idea has gradually developed that prisons are bad and that we should do away with them.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: Nobody wants them but we must have them. That is my interpretation of what was said.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: No.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: As Senator Daly said, victims deserve as much succour and debate as do those who commit crimes against society. I am not talking about young people whom, through no fault of their own, may be thrown into prison because no intervention was made earlier in their lives when they needed professional care, nor am I talking about people who do not pay fines. I agree the latter are clogging up...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: —— we should take hold of ourselves. Senator Ryan said, inadvertently or otherwise, and perhaps he was driven to do so by Senator Daly's comment directed at him, that associates of the Senator should be in those places.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: I condemn that comment.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: Senator Leyden raised the issue of water charges and he was vocal at our parliamentary party meeting on the issue. He has not been hiding his light under a bushel. He said that there should be one uniform water charge for the country, which is a fair point. He said he was prepared to bell the cat, which he did. Senator Finucane raised the case of the Castlemahon workers who will receive...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: Okay. I should not look at the Member who spoke.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: My experience of first-time buyers' grants is that the builder benefits from them. If we were to continue to increase the value of such grants, such increases would fall straight into the laps of the builders. What we may hear from the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, today is a more imaginative way of helping new first-time house purchasers.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: Senator Scanlon raised the issue of water charges. The issue is of acute concern and anyone who stood alongside the Senators Scanlon, Leyden and Feighan last Monday night would know well the ire of people concerning this issue. The Senator raised the issue of the disparity in water charges, unlike Senator Ulick Burke who has called for their abolition. Senator Scanlon raised the disparity...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: Senator Scanlon also raised the issue of care organisers and the difficulty concerning the delivery of service. Senator Terry raised the issue of the needs of people with cystic fibrosis and the need for the provision of special care for them in treatment units. Senator Kitt raised the issue of the inconsistency in water charges. He also raised the issue of the flooding that occurred in...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: Senator Norris also raised the question of water fluoridation and the way it is managed here. Senator Ormonde said that the issue of the prison system is a societal matter and that the issue of having prisons should be examined. Senator Ulick Burke raised the issue of water charges and said that insufficient funds are allocated to local authorities, yet an increase in funding is given to...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: Senator Brennan raised the issue of the payment of redundancy to the Castlemahon workers and joined Senator Finucane is the need to address this matter. Senator Mooney made a plea for parents not to purchase pets for children except in cases where children are prepared to mind and care for them, which is a fair point. Senator Daly raised the issue of job losses in Kilrush and the need to...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: The Order of Business is No.1, Defamation Bill 2006 — Order for Second Stage and Second Stage, to be taken at the conclusion of the Order of Business until 1.30 p.m., with contributions of spokespersons not to exceed 15 minutes, those of other Senators not to exceed ten minutes and the Minister to be called on to reply not later than ten minutes before the conclusion of Second Stage, if it...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: The Senator can have his lunch beforehand.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: I did not hear what the Senator said.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Dec 2006)

Mary O'Rourke: No, we could not have the debate before the budget.