Results 1,481-1,500 of 2,735 for speaker:Marie Louise O'Donnell

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: I thank the Minister for coming in. There were 35 Senators here this morning calling for her to come in and she kindly came at 4.30 p.m. but I do not see 35 Senators here now. If we ask Ministers to come to the House we should be here to question them and listen to what they have to say. That applies to all political divides.

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: I am quite disappointed. I also think this is a national issue. The Seanad is about national issues. This is a national, cultural, artistic issue and it is as important as any other financial and banking or social protection issue that we debate or legislate for here. We all know that Alfred and Lady Beit left Russborough House and the valuables and their paintings to the State in 1976 in...

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: That is a moot legal point that we could all argue. One has also to remember that the State has put millions of euro into the renovation, preservation and upkeep of Russborough House. Therefore, it has a right to question what happens to the valuables and the paintings. It does not matter where they have been hanging for the past 20 years, that is irrelevant, but we have a right to be...

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: We did not know they existed.

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: What about Glasnevin?

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: Yes.

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: I did not.

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: To get out of it.

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: On a point of order, the cost of running the trust is not just a matter for the Beit foundation-----

Seanad: Beit Collection: Statements (18 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: -----if this Government has put €2 million into it. We have some say in it.

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (17 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: I move: That Seanad Éireann: notes that we are currently in the midst of a decade of commemoration of the historical events that led to the foundation of the State;  further notes that, while the State is articulating the value and premium it places on a younger generation being knowledgeable about that history, they are at the same time carving up history as a core/compulsory...

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (17 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: Technology may be the mechanics of the brain, but history is the mind. It is evidence and informed thought. It is away from the garbage of the information highway. It is the antithesis of the Internet, the tabloid press, the frenzied media and the glut and garbage of the saturated information highway. It is the counteraction against the torpor of ideas and immediacy. It involves...

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (17 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: I know.

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (17 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: We came to an understanding that civic, social and political education and physical education would be merged as a subject called well-being. I understand the Department intends to issue a circular to all schools advising them to limit young people's choice of short courses. Will it also use this great circular to suggest that the future of history be strengthened by having it specifically...

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (17 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: Is the Minister of State sure he is in the right Department? It is probably the best answer to any amendment from a Minister. I thank him, because I am on the edge of a precipice of conviction. I would like to point out a few things to Senators. People tell me they know something is an emotive argument.It is like another downgrading. Senator Catherine Noone is gone, but I note that my...

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (17 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: In fact, I was a Buntyand Judyfan myself. I was not allowed to read Jackie, which conveys the confinement of my upbringing.

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (17 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: To be fair to the Minister, she rang me yesterday to say that while she would have liked to be here, she was unable to attend as she had business in the lower House. I acknowledge that. She had a wonderful person take her place. While I will not press a division, I would like the Minister to come to the House to set out her plans and the core nature of history for history teachers, the...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: Nothing could prepare parents for what they might have heard today on the death of their young sons and daughters in the United States. It is an absolute tragedy and I send my sympathies and condolences to any family suffering this loss. The Beit collection, Russborough House and all in it was left to the State in 1976 by Alfred and Lady Beit, so could somebody please tell me what it is...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: Yes, that is what I am saying. That is why I am asking the question. If she was not consulted, why not? How dare anybody take our paintings and put them on a boat or a plane and send them off to Christies. I do not accept it at all. What licence did they have to do so, export or otherwise? What moral, ethical or State licence did they have to do so? I would like an answer to this,...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2015)

Marie Louise O'Donnell: What can the Seanad do to save those jobs and pensions and the franchises within it that will also lose money, wares and so on? Will the Leader invite the relevant Minister to the House? I could ask him or her what we can do about this and whether we can challenge it in the commercial court in terms of there being one law for one group of people and a lesser law for the traders and people...