Results 15,341-15,360 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris

Seanad: Health Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Dec 2008)

David Norris: I asked what number constitutes a quorum.

Seanad: Health Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Dec 2008)

David Norris: That is helpful and I thank the Cathaoirleach.

Seanad: Health Bill 2008: Second Stage (12 Dec 2008)

David Norris: I am always trying to learn. It is a pity the Government is not.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: I agree with much of what Senator Ó Murchú said. The amateur element in sport is very important. When sport becomes a business, it loses many of its values, which, tragically, has happened in the United States. I remember saying quite a number of years ago in the Houses of the Oireachtas that I used to watch wrestling from Manchester with Kent Walton.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and the wonderful Mick McManus, who was a savage in the ring but who collected Ming porcelain. He could be very delicate in his aesthetic appreciation. The interesting thing about wrestling then was that it was fun, theatre and sport. Then it moved to the World Wrestling Federation and it became utterly unscrupulous. The values were different and it was a matter...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: That is why I asked my initial question about the number of amendments. I accept that many of these amendments may well strengthen the Bill. This is not the first time the Bill has made the rounds because it was proposed before the last election so there was that period to look at it. There was the period between the two Administrations and the period when the Bill was being prepared...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: While it is reasonable to include the amendment, I do not feel as threatened by terrorism as do some others. However, I take this opportunity to compliment Senator Hannigan, who has enjoyed a series of unusual successes for someone in his first term in the Seanad. It is refreshing when one puts in such energy and is rewarded by having a direct impact on legislation, even in a small way, by...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: If Senator Hannigan needs a seconder, I would be honoured to second the amendment.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: While Members have rehearsed this issue on a previous Stage of the Bill, I wish to introduce a new element. I received a very brilliant paper by Dr. Oonagh B. Breen of the school of law at University College Dublin, Belfield, in which she comments on the manner in which this matter is addressed in Northern Ireland legislation. My eyesight is not great and I am prepared to be corrected by...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: That is an extraordinary omission that the Minister of State should consider because practically everything else has been defined, down to the hairpins. For example, it defines "church" as the Holy Roman Catholic and Apostolic Church, albeit not, I am glad to say, exclusively, as there is permission for other churches to survive. However, there is no definition of religion although there...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: I do not believe in Senator Buttimer's either, or Senator Mullen's. I find that a great relief. It is a comfort.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: The dead, yes; the body, no.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: He could do with the glorification.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: We will have to get back to the Latin mass and the Cranbrook prayer book.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: It places the human, rather than God, at the centre.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: I have indicated that I very much regret this Government clearly has committed itself to a policy that is deeply antagonistic to the entire area of human rights. There cannot be any doubt about that. I know from speaking to my Fianna Fáil and Green Party colleagues that Members on the opposite side of the House have equally little doubt about the matter. I commend the Green Party and...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: I second the amendment, if that is all right with Senator Hannigan. I would also like to move my own amendment.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: When the time is appropriate, I will do so. I see my distinguished friend and colleague, Senator Boyle, sitting on the Government benches. I do not deplore the fact that the Green Party is in government with Fianna Fáil. That gives a certain degree of leverage in this matter and whatever happens today with this issue, I hope Senator Boyle and his colleagues, both in this and in the other...

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: I did not think the Senator would.

Seanad: Charities Bill 2007: Report and Final Stages (11 Dec 2008)

David Norris: Yes.