Results 1,461-1,480 of 4,363 for speaker:Arthur Morgan

Written Answers — Inter-Country Adoptions: Inter-Country Adoptions (12 May 2009)

Arthur Morgan: Question 175: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if the bilateral agreement on inter-country adoption between this State and Russia has collapsed; the reason for this collapse; when it will be restored; the measures she is taking to ensure the Health Service Executive and other parties here honour the terms of inter-country agreements; if inter-country adoption agreements with this...

Banking System: Motion (12 May 2009)

Arthur Morgan: I thank the Labour Party for sharing time with me and, on behalf of my party, I support the motion before the House today. An extract from an article in the Financial Times of 25 April reads: The problems of banks are much deeper than were then acknowledged and the destabilisation of the economy has happened anyway. Government now provides taxpayers' money to financial businesses in...

Written Answers — Local Authority Housing: Local Authority Housing (7 May 2009)

Arthur Morgan: Question 46: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of tenant purchase scheme, shared ownership and affordable housing units that have been repossessed on behalf of a local authority for each of the past five years in each local authority area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18074/09]

Written Answers — Inter-Country Adoptions: Inter-Country Adoptions (6 May 2009)

Arthur Morgan: Question 193: To ask the Minister for Health and Children when the bilateral agreement with Vietnam on adoption will expire; if she is negotiating a new agreement with the Vietnamese authorities; if so, when this agreement will be complete; if special temporary arrangements will be put in place to facilitate those Irish families who are almost through the process of adopting Vietnamese...

Written Answers — Planning Issues: Planning Issues (6 May 2009)

Arthur Morgan: Question 506: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if there will be a recommendation from his Department to amend the retail planning guidelines to enable pharmacies to locate in town centres; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13402/09]

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: Question 58: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the evidence presented to her to illustrate that rents have fallen in the lower end of the market in each county; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16961/09]

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (30 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: Question 61: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the number of people in each county availing of the rent income supplement; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16960/09]

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: I move amendment No. 5: In page 5, to delete lines 26 to 32. This is interesting and I require clarification on the matter. Section 6(d) of the Bill proposes to insert the following text: "participates or agrees to participate as the case may be, if requested to do so by an officer of the Minister in a course of education, training or development which is considered appropriate by the...

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: I readily accept that FÁS does not fall under the remit of the Minister. Although some of the courses it provides are excellent, others require a significant overhaul to make them interesting and relevant again. A new departure is required, because a relevant person may be required to participate in one of these courses. Last week, a constituent informed me he applied to do a FÁS course....

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: If I may make a final contribution on this amendment, if a person is required by an officer to attend a course and that person does not wish to do so, is there an appeal mechanism or any type of mechanism which would take into account the view of the person who does not wish to take the course as opposed to the view of the Minister's officer?

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: Would the Minister not accept that they are the people with the capacity to disrupt genuine people who want to upskill? This is my concern.

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: It is punitive, it is equivalent to prison.

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: It is one thing to assess a person for a course when that person wishes to participate in it. It is quite another to assess a person for a course when that person does not wish to participate. I shall use the Minister's example of the drug addict and try to imagine being one of 20 people on a course trying to get through it with two or three drug addicts who wanted to be there. I am sure...

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: It is the exact point. If people do not want to be there then not only will they be disruptive concerning themselves, but they will disrupt other people who will want to participate in the course.

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: It is punitive to force people to attend by giving them the option of being there or losing half their welfare. It might not be prison but it is punitive in the extreme. I refer briefly to the C2 victims as we term them in the constituency office where we have quite a few such people coming through. I do not believe the people who now find themselves in that category were obliged by their...

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: One cannot assume the person is not available.

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: That is not the case. There are different categories.

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: I strongly support this amendment. Like Deputy Enright I am caught by the vagaries of some of these amendments and how one gets them through. That said, one of the elements of this I am particularly exercised by is public transport. I would love to see CIE buses coming through the Cooley peninsula, in my constituency, again. There would be queer demand on cameras to photograph them,...

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: In the dying embers of this debate, I want to put on record it is most unfortunate we did not have more time to tease out the legislation. It is clear from the contributions of Opposition Members that significant and constructive amendments could have added to the debate had we had the time to deal with the issues properly. It is regrettable we did not have the time. Whatever about the...

Social Welfare Bill 2009: Committee Stage (28 Apr 2009)

Arthur Morgan: The reason I asked the Minister how long it took her Department to prepare this legislation was to allow me to contrast the reply with the few hours Deputies have had to consider the Bill. That was the context of my question. As Deputies Enright and Shortall have noted, we have had an extremely short lead-in time to the legislation. I fully concur with Deputy Enright's point that some of...