Results 221-240 of 349 for speaker:Tom Morrissey

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Oct 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I call on the Leader to arrange a debate on that subject.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (13 Oct 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I welcome the Minister and the Bill. We are again discussing drink, an issue we have discussed on countless occasions in the past two years. When I was a child, the famous statue of Fr. Matthew was just two miles from my house in County Tipperary. I was often told of the evils of drink when passing the statue. I was told Fr. Matthew was heading for perhaps Cashel or Dublin and was pointing in...

Seanad: Public Transport. (7 Oct 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I also welcome Deputy Cowen to the House for the first time as Minister for Finance and congratulate him wholeheartedly on his elevation to that challenging Department. Public transport is an issue the Government must address. There is currently a travel pass scheme marketed by Dublin Bus which is widely used by companies, particularly in Dublin. It was first introduced as a benefit-in-kind...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Oct 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I echo and support the call for an urgent debate on the future of Aer Lingus. Yesterday, we had the spectacle of Willie Walsh being politically mugged at a meeting of the Joint Committee on Transport. Representatives of parties in this House vied with each other to cosy up to the unions to the greatest extent. In the first sentence of his presentation, Willie Walsh said the airline industry...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Report and Final Stages. (14 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I thank the Minister on behalf of the Progressive Democrats for bringing this Bill before the Seanad. This legislation is about bringing competition to the regions and to monopolies which have not had such competition heretofore. We are not defeatist about the Bill. We thank the Minister for his courage in taking it on and wish him well in his further reforms of the transport sector in particular.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I see some merit in the amendment in regard to the discussions that have taken place over the past 12 months. Banks might rightly have been concerned before the legislation was published but in view of the fact that the legislation is published, the State remains the underwriter and that the Minister said yesterday that he has had no correspondence from any banks in the recent past, the fear...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: Yesterday I stated that this decision was initially taken as a public policy decision, not strictly as a business decision. I would not expect the existing board, which has run a monopoly and has left Shannon and Cork with 10% of the business, to come forward with a business plan under which both Cork and Shannon could operate independently. If it did, it would negate its position to date....

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Second Stage. (13 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I welcome the Minister. This is the third time in the past week he has been here listening to debates on transport. The introduction of this Bill focuses attention on the independence of Cork, Shannon and Dublin Airports. Cork and Shannon will be able to operate autonomously and generate their own level of activity in a competitive environment. The debate on this Bill has concentrated mainly...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Second Stage. (13 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: Aer Rianta, and I hope, Aer Lingus, in future.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Second Stage. (13 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I acknowledge the role played by the Leader, Senator O'Rourke, and pay tribute to her flexibility and political dexterity in steering this important legislation though the House. I also commend the Minister for Transport who has taken on the challenges and reforms that were overlooked and sidelined by previous occupants in this post.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Second Stage. (13 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: Why do 84% of people travel through Dublin Airport?

Seanad: Quality Bus Corridors. (8 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I thank the Minister for Transport for coming in the House to reply to his Adjournment matter. With the advent of the Luas light rail it is clear that people can be attracted to public transport when it is properly provided. For many years we have had a bus network which has had to fight tooth and nail for every foot of QBC. That is due to the arduous nature and procedure which has to be gone...

Seanad: Quality Bus Corridors. (8 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I thank the Minister for his comprehensive report on quality bus corridors and compliment him on the significant ongoing investment which has increased from last year's €16 million level. I would now like to see a focus on the pinch points on existing quality bus corridors to which the Minister referred.

Seanad: Rail Services. (7 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I thank the Minister for his attendance in the House to deal with the matter of the extension of the Maynooth railway line from Clonsilla to Clonee. I congratulate the Minister on the launch of Luas which goes through his own constituency. I am struck by the great similarities between this matter and the Luas line. The Luas line runs on the old Harcourt Street line which was closed down in...

Seanad: Rail Services. (7 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I thank the Minister for his comments. I look forward to Irish Rail's formal presentation to him when it completes its feasibility study. I hope funding will be made available for its proposals. Money is no longer the problem. Value for money will always be an issue but the line will come up trumps in any cost benefit analysis. I ask the Minister to approve the proposal to assist the future...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I wish to raise the issue of the economy. Two nights ago, during Private Members' time, Senator Ryan lambasted the Minister for Finance, stating that in his experience he was the worst Minister for Finance the country ever had. The figures published yesterday by the CSO and the Department belie that fact.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I compliment the Minister for Finance. All the money the Opposition parties would like to spend is being collected by the Minister for Finance.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I hope there will be a debate on the issue in the early autumn. God help us all if there was an alternative Government and the Labour Party took over the Department of Finance.

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Jul 2004)

Tom Morrissey: I commend the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform on the passage of the citizenship referendum by a margin of four to one. The early indications are that the number of asylum seekers has fallen by a further 50% since the referendum was passed and prior to legislation coming before the House. When the Opposition parties are asked to negotiate the terms of reference for the...

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Tom Morrissey: Less than a week ago I raised on the Order of Business the subject I am addressing in this debate. I am pleased to see it has been so quickly put on the agenda by the Labour Party, perhaps as a result of my having raised it.