Results 17,961-17,980 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Seanad: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (9 Apr 2008)

Shane Ross: I note the most important sentence in the Minister of State's reply, namely, "The Minister for Education and Science has made it clear that while she would have liked to have been able to reduce primary class sizes further for the next school year that simply was not possible in the present economic circumstances". That indicates to me that the pupils of Ireland are the first casualties of...

Seanad: Pupil-Teacher Ratio (9 Apr 2008)

Shane Ross: Including this one?

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2008)

Shane Ross: I agree with what Senator Leyden said in at least one respect, namely, his remark that the 12.5% tax rate is worthy of a debate in this House. The Cathaoirleach interrupted him to say that this could be raised in the debate on the Lisbon treaty. It has nothing to do with the treaty. I know it probably will be part of that debate but the danger is that it will become a red herring and a...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Apr 2008)

Shane Ross: I would guess that it would also be the same in the Dáil and among virtually every person in Ireland. Let us have no more truck with the French on this issue. The Minister for Foreign Affairs should also come to the House to discuss the issue of Tibet, which was raised by Senator O'Toole, because it is a matter of immediate importance. Senator O'Toole has ploughed this furrow with a great...

Seanad: Health Services (20 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: In the spirit of goodwill being expressed by all parties in the House, I do not doubt that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government will accede to my request in a fit of Easter generosity. I wish to raise the issue of the need for the Department of Health and Children to secure core funding for the Irish Osteoporosis Society. It is obviously a delicate matter when one...

Seanad: Health Services (20 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: I realise that this is not the Minister's portfolio so a detailed question would be inappropriate and unfair. However, the Minister's reply was not encouraging and when he says there is a Department, a council, a steering committee, the HSE and a sub-group, all in a few sentences, then we are not going very far. It is a giveaway that this issue will be submerged in bureaucracy. That is a...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: Senator Harris put his finger on it to some extent when he said we waste valuable time making speeches in the House for very local and parochial reasons, particularly this week when this is the only House of the Oireachtas sitting and we could use our time particularly well. It seems to me that we have missed out on one issue which is rocking the world, and it is extraordinary it has not...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: This reflects very badly on the Seanad. We have two sitting days, today and tomorrow, and we can sit on Friday, if necessary. Could we have the Minister for Finance to the House to explain the Government's attitude to what is a major financial crisis and what it is doing about it? Ordinary people are walking the streets asking, "What does this mean to me?"

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: The Government is keeping its head in the sand and saying, "Don't worry. Don't panic". That is wrong. We should be panicking. This is a time for panic. Across the road from Leinster House today, RTE union members are meeting to ask about their pensions. The Irish stock market is down 40%. People are worried that they will not get their pensions at all — they are wrong, but they are...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: They do not know what are the implications for themselves and we have the opportunity to offer them that. I ask him to do that.

Seanad: Pharmaceutical Pricing: Statements (4 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: I thank Senator Quinn for sharing his time with me, particularly as I do not agree with a word he said, something of which he was perhaps unaware when he generously agreed to my request. I see this as a kind of David and Goliath struggle, with the HSE on one side and the pharmacists on the other. An unequal battle is taking place because the weapons the pharmacists must use are very...

Seanad: Pharmaceutical Pricing: Statements (4 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: ——whereas the pharmacists have virtually no bodies to do this work for them. The survey undertaken by the pharmacists indicates the consequences of the action proposed will be far more severe than the spin which emanates from the Department and the HSE. The number of closures, possible unemployment and the cost to rural communities will be immense and ultimately unacceptable.

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: I join the call for a debate on the Middle East, but perhaps it should not happen quite yet. It is somewhat dangerous to talk in the heat and passion of the incident which has just happened. As all right-thinking Members in the House have said, it is an appalling situation where babies and children, or any innocent human beings, lose their lives. It appears this debate provokes sometimes...

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: It is a question of language, Senator Norris.

Seanad: Order of Business. (4 Mar 2008)

Shane Ross: It is a question of language. If we have that debate we must be very focused and look also at Iran and other countries in that area which are guilty of atrocities of which we cannot approve either. If we are to have a debate, it must be balanced. I agree with Senator Quinn about financial regulation. Regulation in this country is ridiculous and is out of hand. I do not know whether the...

Seanad: Schools Building Programme (28 Feb 2008)

Shane Ross: My item concerns the need for the Minister for Education and Science to advance the planning process for Howth Road national school to development stage. This is a bad case of a delay in the development of a school on the north side of Dublin which has been inexplicably caught up in bureaucracy and difficulties. It has caused immense frustration to the pupils, parents, board of management,...

Seanad: Schools Building Programme (28 Feb 2008)

Shane Ross: I am disappointed with the Minister of State's reply because he gives no date. Will he please ask the Minister for Education and Science to assure me that the Department is doing everything it can to hasten the construction on this site, not doing anything to block it, and that this school has not been relegated to a lower place on the waiting list?

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Statements (21 Feb 2008)

Shane Ross: I thank the Minister for attending the House after several appeals from me and many others for a debate on this issue. I do not agree with many of her comments, but I appreciate that she is prepared to explain her position to both Houses. I do not agree with Senator Norris on costs. I do not care about costs as it is not a cost issue. However, there were some unnecessary costs in the Ó...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Statements (21 Feb 2008)

Shane Ross: If I may, I will refer to——

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Statements (21 Feb 2008)

Shane Ross: ——a letter I received from a parent to put on the record the personal and human feelings involved. The person is a parent of a five year old boy who suffers from autism and is aware of the lack of services provided in Ireland and how one's place of birth can decide how one can cope with the condition. The debate on ABA is, according to this person, a no-brainer. The person claims that,...