Results 161-180 of 72,081 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: That and electronic voting.

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: Better local government could be described instead as worse local government; it can certainly be described as more centralised local government. What Deputy Perry said is true. The only reforms introduced under this heading have been the removal of the dual mandate and electronic voting. These can hardly be regarded as major positive impacts on society. However, they create a centralised...

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: They will ring back in perhaps six weeks. I will deal with something that relates to where we are going. We are on the subject of better local government, but that means more centralised local government, authority, power and control. That leaves the way open for worse things to happen than we have seen. The Flood report should be able to illustrate that it can never occur again and that we...

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: It is not the same.

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: Yes, in theory a person running for election can spend as much as he or she likes.

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: Why do the same rules not apply to the Oireachtas? Why should there be a difference between elections to local authorities and elections to the Oireachtas?

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: Should I give the Minister of State a shovel to dig an even bigger hole? I have never heard such an explanation and if it reflects the thinking behind Better Local Government and the regulations appertaining to local elections, I am sad and sorry because we will have problems. I will give the House another practical example. While we all accept that the regulations which apply to the...

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: I would have preferred if even a few of the watchdogs from the Progressive Democrats Party had been present for the debate to show their moral support and demonstrate that they are still watchdogs and not, as my colleague suggested, a smaller version of the larger party.

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: He will have to keep going or I will speak again.

Tribunals of Inquiry: Statements. (20 Feb 2004)

Bernard Durkan: Would the trade unions not support the Minister for State?

An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: I too acknowledge the dispute in Ballinamore where local farming interests are concerned by the proposed closure of the Teagasc station. This is not a unique incident as it has been happening elsewhere for the last 12 months. It is the result of the slow strangulation by Government of the research and development wing of the agricultural and horticultural sector. The attempts by the...

An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: ——of both inside and outside the Department of Agriculture and Food, he is to be lauded for the manner in which he spoke out. He recognised that the Government, of which he is a supporter, is doing nothing to support what was once a basic and fundamental industry — the food producing industry. Anyone who has studied the food producing sector over the past number of years will note the...

An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: I have no intention of allowing myself to be encompassed in that group. If what I heard on "Morning Ireland" today is correct, what we have heard in the last few days regarding planning matters in rural Ireland is a total sham. There was no intention of improving the situation and neither is there any now. The situation appears worse than before and all the Government was doing was creating...

An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: Nothing could be further from the truth and the Minister of State knows as well as I that his party's delegates — God love the poor creatures — will be at that Ard-Fheis for the whole weekend, where they will be told again and again by two of his ministerial colleagues, who have been very loquacious in the area over the last few years, that they have at last been saved and that redemption...

An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: This is apropos of the legislation.

An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: I assure the Leas-Cheann Comhairle that it is closely related to the Bill, as he will see in a moment. The person in question made a horticultural proposal concerning less than an acre of land. He envisaged glasshouses and tunnels, for which he sought planning permission. He had a house too. However, the authorities said that it was inconsistent with the type of development that one could...

An Bord Bia (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: That is just as well, since if he had such feelings, he would burst into tears. I was very close to that myself when I saw what was happening this morning. The points raised by several other speakers are valid and should be borne in mind by the Minister. The whole question of the future of food and food products in this country must be measured against the competition that we face from...

Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: On a point of order, if the Minister was available more regularly we would have dealt with it months ago.

Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: It is a point of order. The Minister should not have interjected in the first instance.

Commissions of Investigation Bill 2003: Second Stage (Resumed). (5 Mar 2004)

Bernard Durkan: A top model would make that kind of money.