Results 61-80 of 3,476 for speaker:Charlie O'Connor

Written Answers — Garda Stations: Garda Stations (18 May 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: Question 155: To ask the Minister for Finance if consultations have taken place with interested parties regarding proposals for the redevelopment of the Tallaght Garda station site; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14234/04]

Written Answers — Health Centres: Health Centres (18 May 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: Question 316: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if he will report on plans for the redevelopment of the health centre at Millbrook Lawns, Tallaght, Dublin 24; if his attention has been drawn to the importance of this project; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14232/04]

Written Answers — Minimum Voting Age: Minimum Voting Age (18 May 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: Question 399: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government if his attention has been drawn to the debate in the UK regarding the reduction of the voting age to 16; his views on the subject; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14328/04]

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: I will take a lead from Deputy McCormack and speak as a Government backbencher who does not do the plinth but I am happy to contribute to and support the National Monuments (Amendment) Bill. I am pleased to note the presence of the Acting Chairman, Deputy Glennon, because I know if I am in any trouble and being heckled by anybody from the Opposition, he will protect me but it does not look...

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: I will try to get through my 20 minutes.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: I will do my best. Perhaps the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, will pass on my good wishes to the Minister because I am a well-known admirer of his and wish him well with his duties and this Bill. On a number of occasions, including quite recently, the Minister has taken the opportunity to walk the streets of Tallaght with me. Sometimes those of us who represent major population centres...

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: Sometimes people in Tallaght say to me that I am not really from Tallaght and they ask me how long I have lived there. When I say I have lived there for 35 years, they say that is not very long.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: Strangely enough, I started off in this neck of the woods. I was born in Holles Street and my family lived in St. Stephen's Street. I mention that fact because where we lived at the bottom of St. Stephen's Street is now owned by Dunnes Store and is a very important archaeological site.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: Recently, a number of Viking bodies have been found there. I have suddenly become very aware of heritage and history. Even where my parents were married 59 years ago today, the church of Saints Michael and John, is very much a historical site. Despite what some colleagues might think or perceive I do, I have a great interest in old Dublin and in history. When people think about Tallaght, they...

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: They have also had a go at a Minister who is clearly doing his job well. He has many admirers on Deputy Durkan's side of the House. I know Deputy Durkan cannot come into the House, break party ranks and say that, but the Minister is doing his job and I know the Deputy privately concedes that.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: The Deputy can heckle me at the end of my contribution but he should let me get through it. I listened to the Deputy's colleague, Deputy Olivia Mitchell, who made an excellent and positive contribution. She would know a great deal about this business given that she represents Dublin South. The M50 cuts through Dublin South-West, which I represent. Deputy Olivia Mitchell would know a little...

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: If the Deputy is trying to rise me, I will raise my voice by a decibel. I represent the Tallaght area. The Deputy suggested that all hell was breaking loose and the roof was falling in, but in Tallaght central we had one seat prior to the elections and now we still have one seat. In Tallaght south, we have two seats. Therefore, there is no sign of the roof falling in there.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: The Government is doing its job. We must take a more caring approach and that is what the Minister of State, Deputy de Valera, and her colleagues will be doing. I hope every Member here can say that he or she, like me, is a democrat. My party will always accept the will of the people and listen to them. That is what I want to do and I will respond to what the people say to me. I am not afraid...

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: He and I will be able to drive from my constituency to his and to Bray to enjoy the seaside. I do not need to explain to any Member of this House the urgent social and economic need for the completion of this stretch of motorway as soon as possible, a point which even Deputy Olivia Mitchell made. I congratulate my colleague, the Minister for Transport, Deputy Brennan——

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: ——who also represents Dublin South together with the Minister of State, Deputy Kitt, on the recent opening of the Drummartin link road and on the announcement that this December the sections either side of the Carrickmines area will be open to traffic and we will be able to use them. I might bring Deputy Durkan on a tour of it if he has an hour to spare some day.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: The congestion we have all experienced over the past five years in the Sandyford area will be consigned to history and the M50 from the M1 to the M11 will be completed. When researching for this contribution I also discovered the impact our heritage can have on the development of the common good. I was a member of South Dublin County Council from 1991 up to last September. I am disappointed...

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: It is one of those things.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: It was the right decision, and even the Deputy agrees with that——

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: ——but that does not mean I cannot express the view that I miss the council, which I do. I drive by the council building in Tallaght every morning and wish I could go in, but I do not have time as I must continue to do my job on the national stage, and that is what we are all doing.

National Monuments (Amendment) Bill 2004: Second Stage. (17 Jun 2004)

Charlie O'Connor: Having been a member of the council for many years, I am fully aware of environmental impact statements and, on reading the report on Carrickmines, was reminded, as I know were other colleagues, that the public inquiry and approval for the project was granted back in 1998. That was six years ago and, with the passing of this Bill, the projected completion date is July 2005. It took a total of...