Results 1,441-1,460 of 1,591 for speaker:Eugene Regan

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2008)

Eugene Regan: ——he is so desperate to conceal——

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Feb 2008)

Eugene Regan: ——and whether those payments are of a corrupt nature.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: I wish to add to the observations on the ban on Brazilian beef. I worked for the Irish Farmers Association and represented their interests in Brussels during the 1970s. I agree with Senator O'Toole on the effectiveness of the IFA as a professional lobbying body. The work done by the IFA and other farming organisations in highlighting the difference in the treatment of farmers and beef...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: I appreciate it is frowned upon by some people to make such remarks about the Taoiseach, given his achievements. Senator Eoghan Harris has strong views about this matter, particularly in the context of——

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: I am not raising any matters that are in the courts, although a matter related to a prosecution in the courts which a fellow Senator raised yesterday was entirely out of order. I am not speaking about courts but about an issue concerning the Taoiseach. Yesterday, I corrected a matter concerning the presentation by the Taoiseach of his unique address to the United States Congress. I pointed...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: It is wrong to appropriate the credit for the peace process to one man and use it as vindication for the Taoiseach and an excuse for not upholding the rule of law. We should address this issue at a future date.

Seanad: The 70th Anniversary of the Constitution: Statements (30 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: The House is discussing the basic law of the country, the Constitution of 1937, which defines our representative democracy as one grounded in popular sovereignty, subject to the rule of law. It is sometimes easy to forget that among the former colonies, Ireland, in 1922, became the first to win independence and chose deliberately to make its legislation subject to the control of a Judiciary...

Seanad: The 70th Anniversary of the Constitution: Statements (30 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: All the amendments are based on that crusade.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: We agreed a number of months ago that there would be a debate in the Seanad on the Lisbon Treaty. When will we have that debate? It is also agreed that there will be a referendum. When will we have it? The Taoiseach and the Government are playing games with the date for the referendum, which is damaging to the prospects of a full and open public debate on the treaty. I fully appreciate...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Eugene Regan: Liam Cosgrave was the first Taoiseach to address both Houses of Congress, followed by Garret FitzGerald on 15 March 1984 and John Bruton on 11 December 1996. I appreciate this is an important event and I do not wish to take from that. The Taoiseach also has other appointments, not least with the Mahon tribunal, and these are a distraction but this referendum is important to Ireland and to...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: Last week I called for a debate on the national finances and the national debt. This new report from the ESRI highlights the direction in which the Government is bringing us in terms of the economy and the national finances. I reiterate that call for a debate in the new year and that the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, would be invited to attend. I wish to raise one other...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: I am calling for a debate.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: A debate on this matter may very well be appropriate.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: As a barrister, I must declare my interest.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: Let us look at the Bar in Ireland and its contribution to society. From Daniel O'Connell and Wolfe Tone to Mary Robinson and Peter Sutherland today, the contribution of the Bar to Irish society, nationally and internationally, should not be underestimated. There is a serious point. We have an independent Bar. We have 200 barristers a year entering——

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: Two hundred barristers enter the profession every year and there is increased competition, as anyone practising or entering the profession knows. It is a close as one gets to the model of perfect competition with many buyers and many sellers. Another aspect of the independent Bar is that it gives access to the smallest rural solicitors' firm and to the top solicitors' firms in the cities....

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: I am just explaining why a debate is needed.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: Many issues that barristers have raised in the courts are sensitive ones on which the Houses of the Oireachtas have been afraid to legislate and debate for years, such as contraception, civil partnership, the right to life.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: It is barristers who have done this on a pro bono basis.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2007)

Eugene Regan: I seek a debate on these issues because there have been various remarks made about the profession. We should not underestimate the value of an independent Bar to Irish society.