Results 141-160 of 501 for speaker:Maurice Hayes

Seanad: Third Level Education: Statements (Resumed). (22 Feb 2006)

Maurice Hayes: I am grateful to colleagues for allowing me to contribute. I also believe that at some stage we will need to revisit the issue of fees and funding. However, I wish to deal with the medical proposals. It is a pity that the very sensible proposal in the Fottrell report that people who have completed a primary degree should move on to medicine is immediately negated by regarding them as...

Seanad: Third Level Education: Statements (Resumed). (22 Feb 2006)

Maurice Hayes: This problem could be overcome by giving them a bursary if they undertook to work as GPs or elsewhere in the public sector. I too am concerned about the concentration on a high number of points. I welcome that the Minister has said that we will have some system for people with more than 450 points. We may as well have a lottery as any other system. No system can predict who will be a good...

Seanad: Northern Ireland Issues: Statements. (2 Feb 2006)

Maurice Hayes: Is it under suspicion because the Senator is staying there?

Seanad: Northern Ireland Issues: Statements. (2 Feb 2006)

Maurice Hayes: While I am grateful to Senator Mansergh for sharing his time with me, I regret that he should have to do so, because the House could benefit from his wisdom and experience in this subject. It is a pity that bodies which were set up to provide clarity in these matters should have produced confusion. I regret that the IMC and IICD are drawing from the same intelligence pool and producing what...

Seanad: Northern Ireland Issues: Statements. (2 Feb 2006)

Maurice Hayes: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (2 Feb 2006)

Maurice Hayes: I support Senator Quinn's request for a debate on the integration of immigrants in society, which is the most pressing social problem we face. We need incoming workers for the economy because they bring a great richness and diversity to our society. There appears to be no policy in this regard. We have an opportunity to avoid the situations that have arisen in France and Britain. On Senator...

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Feb 2006)

Maurice Hayes: I ask the Leader to set aside time to discuss Professor Fottrell's report, which is hugely important not only as it relates to medical education but also as it will potentially affect the delivery of health services in this country. It strikes me that if not enough work is being generated to necessitate Seanad sittings on Tuesdays, the House could usefully consider reports of this nature,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jan 2006)

Maurice Hayes: A Chathaoirligh, I would be offended if I thought you were calling me simply because of my advancing age.

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jan 2006)

Maurice Hayes: It would be a pity if we did not have at least a short debate on the Garda ombudsman commission. We run the risk of diminishing the dignity of this hugely important institution if we do not treat it as we treated other institutions. There is not the smallest doubt that the House would approve the names that are put before it. These are excellent people — I do not think a single person would...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Jan 2006)

Maurice Hayes: In view of the rate of traffic accidents, will the Leader arrange for a debate on road safety? It might be worthwhile examining the experience in Northern Ireland where for the first time the number of accidents has decreased substantially. They must be doing something right so it would be interesting to see what it is. I support the request for a debate on Northern Ireland, which would be...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 Dec 2005)

Maurice Hayes: Ba mhaith tagairt a dhéanamh don mhéid a dúirt an Seanadóir O'Toole. Is oth liom go nglacann an Coimisinéir Teanga gur ionann iad foilseachán i bhfoirm IrelandNet agus foilseachán i bhforim leabhair. Ba chóir an rud céanna a dhéanamh le foilseachán i mBéarla freisin. I am appalled by the number of glossy reports we receive every year from statutory bodies and the more they deal...

Seanad: Order of Business. (15 Dec 2005)

Maurice Hayes: It is an appalling waste of money and most reports end up in the waste paper basket. I do not know why they cannot publish them on the Internet and advertise that fact. That would save a lot of money. I also support the call for a debate on higher education. The additional money for that sector, which is to be welcomed, should be used strategically to ensure that Irish universities can...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Dec 2005)

Maurice Hayes: We should not take that route. We should be careful of those who conduct such inquiries, but the notion that only the State can investigate the State is somehow wrong. The Civil Partnerships Act 2004 is now effective in Northern Ireland, and perhaps the Leader might inform us of the status of Senator Norris's Bill on a similar subject in this jurisdiction. Finally, regarding Northern Ireland...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Dec 2005)

Maurice Hayes: I do not want to pre-empt the debate on the Finance Bill, but as a grandparent I am grateful to Senator Brian Hayes for his suggestions regarding changes to the order of service in the nighttime prayers of my grandchildren. I will ensure that Senator White's name enters the pantheon.

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Dec 2005)

Maurice Hayes: More broadly, following Senator Brian Hayes's other remarks, I will not enter the controversy surrounding the Centre for Public Inquiry, but like Senator Norris, I would be concerned if the House drew the conclusion that no one except the Government should set up bodies to inquire into public affairs. For a democracy, that is absolutely Stalinist.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (23 Nov 2005)

Maurice Hayes: I too support the request for a debate on Northern Ireland, particularly in regard to the local government proposals. I generally support Senator Ó Murchú's point that the proposals are too functional and miss out on essential democracy. The process was begun by the former Executive — I believe it did so in an exercise in self-preservation, but that is by the way — and has been...

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Nov 2005)

Maurice Hayes: I too support those who asked for a debate on the values in the education system. It is a pity if we divert ourselves from that debate by having a witch-hunt in the press every time any of these issues is raised. Sadly what the press is doing is reflecting the values in the wider society, the schools and of the parents. The House should have a debate which reinstates the dignity of work so...

Seanad: Ferns Report: Statements (Resumed). (15 Nov 2005)

Maurice Hayes: I too congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Lenihan, on his handling of the sequence of events which has been compassionate, sure-footed and responsible. I start from a position where I would not have had a secondary education had it not been for the willingness of members of the De la Salle order to dedicate their lives to teaching me for nothing. I am eternally grateful to them...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Oct 2005)

Maurice Hayes: I, too, spent last night reading the Ferns report. I did not sleep and I think I will sleep less tonight. It reminds me of a task I had years ago, reading the evidence of the Kincora inquiry which contained similar matters. I thank God for people like Bishop Walsh, Mr. Colm O'Gorman and those who had the courage to come forward and deal with this. It would be worthwhile looking at the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Oct 2005)

Maurice Hayes: Another aspect, if I could be forgiven for saying so, is that over the years there were decent journalists — and newspapers — who tried to get some of these bishops to face their responsibility and each time were told they had reached a new low.