Results 361-380 of 501 for speaker:Maurice Hayes

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Dec 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I support the plea for a debate on the forthcoming report. I hope the Leader will balance the debate in such a way that it does not become an orgy of Brit bashing and do more harm than good. I have enormous sympathy for those who lost loved ones, who will not be brought back by it, and I have enormous admiration for the courage they have shown in remaking their lives over the years. I am a...

Seanad: Report on Dublin and Monaghan Bombings: Motion. - Defamation: Statements. (10 Dec 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I am grateful to Senator Walsh for allowing me share his time. I have an interest to declare as a director of Independent Newspapers but I do not speak for them or for the National Newspapers of Ireland. I had the privilege of spending a day with the Minister at the conference referred to earlier and I would like to assure Members that I did not regard it as a cosmetic exercise. People even...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Dec 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I have an interest to declare as a director of Independent News and Media. I support Senator Brian Hayes's request for a debate on the proposal for a press council and ombudsman. This is an ideal debate for the Seanad at this time as it would be a pre-White Paper debate before matters are cast in concrete. Senator Brian Hayes, I am sure entirely inadvertently, was unfair to the Minister. I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Dec 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I also support the request for a debate on Northern Ireland in the wake of the post-election situation. However, I disagree with Senator Brian Hayes. There is a danger in denigrating political parties because one may appear to denigrate the people who elected them. In life one plays the hand one is dealt and if the cards fall that way, then that is the position. The two parties which have...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I would like to support Senator Quinn's call for a discussion at some stage on charities legislation. It is time something was done about that. It is long overdue. The Senator is right to pinpoint the people on the streets with boards who are paid and make money from this. I also support the proposal of a debate on Northern Ireland before Christmas. We will know the result of the election by...

Seanad: Address by President of the European Parliament. (27 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I thank the President for his kind remarks about the forum and about me. The forum was set up to communicate about Europe and to engage the citizens. The President's personality and profession are a good example of how that can be done. He brought a sense of vision to the issue today and he took Europe away from a collection of directives and orders and gave us a feel for the philosophical...

Seanad: Address by Ms Nuala Ahern, MEP. (27 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I welcome Ms Ahern and recognise and thank her for the work she has done over the years. These exchanges have been valuable to the Seanad and I hope the MEPs have found that too. It is a bit unfair to ask Ms Ahern or her colleagues to expound a position on extremely complex issues in a short period of time, or to respond to equally complex issues in a "Yes" or "No" manner. Does Ms Ahern have...

Seanad: Address by Mr. Joe McCartin, MEP. (26 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I, too, welcome Mr. McCartin to the House. It was a pleasure to hear his inspiring contribution. The quality of representation we have in Europe encourages me greatly. Furthermore, I was hugely impressed by his enthusiasm and passion for Europe given that it is so many years since he was first elected. It is not so much the mastery of the nuts and bolts of Europe that I want to talk about –...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I do not support the amendment. However, I find it distasteful that members of the medical and legal professions are being denigrated in the House, which is unfair. There are, of course, hucksters and good people in every profession. I am sure there is the same range of human nature and human response in politics. Senator O'Toole's contribution might be considered eloquent but I thought it...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I worked for a while as an ombudsman and limitations such as that are difficult because on particular occasions one has to ask people to extend the limitations. Senator O'Toole's point is well made. There is a certain irreducible minimum but if one has to exchange documents and information and gather the material, it is very difficult. However, as an example of good practice the board should...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I do not carry any particular torch for the Incorporated Law Society but I see no reason for Senator Leyden's assertion that a member nominated by the Law Society of Ireland might have a difficulty in deciding whether he was a member of the board or a representative any more than a person nominated by the Irish Insurance Federation, who would surely face the exact same ethical dilemma. Surely...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: On a point of information, I have been discussing the proposal to establish a personal injuries assessment board but Senator O'Toole seems to be talking about a pre-existing board and uses the pronoun "we". Which is the case? If there is a pre-existing board doing all these things, what is the point in our having this discussion at all?

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: A proper board.

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I support Senator Norris's plea for video recording to be provided. It is a nonsense and regrettable that cases collapse due to such a defective process. We had this problem for many years in Northern Ireland. It does not have to be available in every Garda station. There could be eight such suites around the country and it would be fair to the person who is being interrogated, the Garda and...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Second Stage. (20 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I will not take all of it, a Chathaoirligh. I compliment Senator McDowell on his very thoughtful and erudite contribution, which covered most of what I would wish to say about this Bill. I feel no need to take an entirely derogatory approach towards the legal profession, partly because three of my children are in various branches of that profession, both in this country and in the UK. None of...

Seanad: Stem Cell Research: Statements. (19 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I also welcome the Minister to the House. This is a subject of enormous sensitivity and I am struck by the way in which Senators on both sides of the debate expressed their views with moderation, compassion and respect for the views of those who differ from them. I, too, was surprised when this matter went for consideration to the Joint Committee on Enterprise and Small Business. I would not...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: I will try and spare the House the clichés. I too support the request for a debate on stem cell research. This House is the ideal location for that debate and it is obvious that there is a wealth of information and experience on both sides of the House which would make the debate very useful. Some weeks ago the House paid a very well deserved tribute to the memory of Lady Valerie Goulding, a...

Seanad: Address by Ms Mary Banotti, MEP. (13 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: It is an enormous pleasure to see Ms Banotti in the House. Her performance as an MEP over the years has been exemplary. I have much admired her work in respect of children. I am sorry she should have chosen to trample so rudely on my dreams of holiday romance, but at my age they are only dreams, alas. It is also a pleasure to see such a distinguished former Minister as Nora Owen in the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: With the indulgence of the Cathaoirleach, I remind the House that today is the 85th anniversary of the armistice that ended the Great War, in which so many Irish people of all traditions, North and South, died. We should remember the Irish people who died in all wars and conflicts, ponder the futility of conflict and commit ourselves to peace. Will the Leader inform us if it is possible to...

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Nov 2003)

Maurice Hayes: Before raising my own substantive point, I support Senator Ryan's plea for a debate on stem cell research. That is the type of decent reflective debate for which the Seanad is ideally suited. I probably would have a different view from many others on the issue, but that is not the point. I too was amazed when I read that the issue was being handled by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and...