Results 1,841-1,860 of 3,356 for speaker:Feargal Quinn

Seanad: Finance Bill 2009 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage (28 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, was also welcome, as were his words. I must agree with Senator MacSharry when he stated the world has changed. We cannot sit back and merely do what we have done in the past. We must change as well. If these changes are taking place, to what extent are we taking the right steps and to what...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: Senator Norris and I agree on many things, but we do not agree upon the exemption of the churches from equality legislation. I was in the House when it was introduced many years ago and I believe the churches should have the right to be able to be exempted. I mention this because The Irish Times today referred to the fact that I supported Senator Norris and I would like to correct that. On...

Seanad: Monageer Report: Motion (27 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State for this pertinent debate. I have no problem supporting the Fine Gael motion. When I discovered that the Garda Commissioner, Fachtna Murphy, and the HSE chief executive, Professor Brendan Drumm, were the only two people who have technically seen the report, I realised we must do something about it. The report into the Monageer tragedy is as notable for what...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I intended raising the issue raised by Senator Regan and others on alcohol. One of the points that emerges from the research is that the image of Ireland is tainted by the amount of alcohol consumed, and the question of how we can handle it. It will be difficult for us to deal with controls on advertising and sponsorship in Ireland alone if we do not manage to get some level of agreement on...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency: Statements (26 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh. It is very tough to stand up and speak after Senator MacSharry, who spent four hours with me at the committee meeting today, because he has given a full report of it. I am delighted I attended the meeting. I went to it feeling doubtful, questioning and unsure whether this was the right thing to do. I was influenced by the amount of media...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency: Statements (26 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: He is. He was very positive. He talked about the alternatives but he seemed to support the Government's approach. He did not necessarily say he supported it, but he said he understood what the Minister was doing and asked about it in a logical way. There is a widespread view that NAMA will estimate the long-term value of the banks at €90 billion worth of development loans and that it...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency: Statements (26 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: That would not be possible.

Seanad: Reappointment of Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Motions (26 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I support the appointment of Ms O'Reilly as Ombudsman. I thank the Minister for widening the remit of the office and the scope of her duties, of which I had not been aware. I knew Ms Emily O'Reilly before her appointment as Ombudsman, and I knew the two previous holders of the office. There is little doubt that the Office of the Ombudsman has been helped by the people appointed to that...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency: Statements (26 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I wish to share time with Senator David Norris.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: The abuse we read about in recent days has horrified us. Those of us who knew something about it and had covered some of it earlier had no idea of the extent of it. It is interesting to be reminded that Archbishop Diarmuid Martin had warned us of how serious this report would be. We welcome the opportunity to debate it tomorrow. The onus is on us to do that. I was impressed by what...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (20 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: Senator Coghlan mentioned that the Government yesterday pledged to pay all suppliers within 15 days. It is sometimes not known that successful businesses can fail not because they are not profitable but because they run short of cash. Therefore, this initiative is to be highly recommended. Anything the Government can do to ensure the cashflow of businesses will enable them to survive....

Seanad: Organic Food Industry: Statements (20 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I did not intend to interrupt the flow of Senator Daly, who was addressing some interesting topics. I am delighted the Minister of State is present for this debate. I am interested in much of what he has had to say. I came up with some figures when I did my research for this debate, but I do not intend to use them after seeing what happened to Senator Bradford. It is obvious the Minister...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I have listened very carefully to Senators Cannon and O'Toole. It seems that Senator Cannon has a point: if the Director of Corporate Enforcement is seeking a particular document, which is in a filing cabinet, it would appear on the basis of this that he or she has the right take away the whole filing cabinet. I know there are protections in place and I am not sure what the answer is, but...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: As I remarked on Second Stage, the concern of everyone is to ensure and enable business to operate and I realise the Tánaiste's heart is behind that concern. I cannot improve on the words of Senator Cannon. There is great doubt about the phrase "as soon as practicable" and it seems rather vague. I realise it is dotted throughout legislation but it is essential we have some control on a...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I understand the reason for this being included in the Bill and the reason the legislation attempts to cover the matter, because any director on a board who does not bother reading the papers, does not accept responsibility nor bother attending to his or her duty should be found guilty. On the other hand, many companies are not simple companies. I recall my experience as chairman of An...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: The Minister explained very well why she is not accepting amendment No. 7 but the paragraph this amendment seeks to delete is very blunt: "Where a company makes default in complying with this section, the company and every person who at the time of that default is a director of the company shall be guilty of an offence." I do not know whether the explanation the Minister gave in respect of...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I have prepared some figures, but since most of them have been read out already or are about to be, I will take the opportunity to place on record a letter that appears today in The Irish Times, which I am not sure the Minister of State will have seen: Madam, The present dispute about whether, because of the economic tsunami, Ireland is justified in cutting overseas aid evokes a historic...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: Any day now.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I support Senator Ó Murchú's comments in regard to the interview, which I, too, heard this morning. There is a need to recognise that we can talk ourselves into a deeper recession. Let us not do that. We must recognise we are facing a challenge that we can handle. I am not sure that has been recognised. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that when in Dundalk I spoke to some people who...

Seanad: Corporate Governance: Motion (13 May 2009)

Feargal Quinn: I would welcome a debate on the whole question of corporate governance. We need to be very careful we do not go too far the other way. I found myself speaking in different countries over the last few years about the wonderful success of Ireland, but that success was clearly due to a number of factors, including our investment in education, our tax policy, our involvement in Europe and our...