Results 181-200 of 11,811 for speaker:Denis O'Donovan

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: This is an old hobby horse of mine which I raised previously in the House. I am glad to hear that the Minister met representatives from Cork and Kerry last week. This matter is more regional than parochial and is urgent in so far as that, even though we are in the middle of winter, if the new vessel is not secured in the next two or three weeks the ferry service from Cork to Rosslare, which...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: The Minister of State explained the matter, but we should refresh our memories. Will the Minister of State outline what information is required on the employees expected to be working at the end of an accounting year? The second paragraph states: "more than 30 of its current full time employees are likely to continue to be so employed full time under contracts of service during the...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I have no difficulty with the principle of what the Minister of State is trying to achieve, but will he explain the position concerning the average number of employees? It is a time of employment uncertainty. There is substantial business occurring at Dublin Port, Cork Port and other large ports, which I hope will remain the case, but a number of ports are marginal. The amendment is a big...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: We covered much of the ground on this issue on the last occasion. I agree that local authority members have served port companies in good stead over the years. The make-up of most harbour boards comprises a cross-section of community involvement. For example, of the 11 members of the board of Bantry Port, two are from the county council, usually from the local electoral area containing the...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: Consultation is central to several of the amendments I have tabled. As I noted earlier, I was a member of the Bantry harbour board for several years. Consultation is critical at all stages. Since I last spoke on this Bill, I held a refresher meeting with members of the board. Notwithstanding the grievances I have raised in the House, they wanted to express their gratitude to the staff of...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Oct 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I am still talking about consultation, an issue critical to section 18. The section refers to the transfer of Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners and Tralee and Fenit Pier Harbour Commissioners, etc. which is my major difficulty. There is a harbour in Bantry that it is proposed will be transferred and amalgamated with Cork Port. Amendment No. 7 refers to consultation, which is the critical...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I join in the call for a debate on agriculture. I accept that substantial progress has been made in the past two decades in the area of agriculture but in regard to the recent budget I have two concerns that I outlined to the Minister recently. I ask the Deputy Leader for a debate on this important issue, particularly as it relates to the farm retirement scheme. Currently there are...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: We were discussing lack of consultation in the process. This is an Opposition amendment and I wish to express my disquiet regarding the lack of consultation. I cannot comment on behalf of Fenit, County Kerry, or other places but I can comment on behalf of Bantry, County Cork. The kernel of some of the amendments which I have proposed later in section 18 could be resolved if the issues...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: Yes. The Earl of Bantry and Bantry House estate own all the foreshore, about 60 miles of it, from Sheep's Head. The purchase of the foreshore was critical for any development in the inner harbour at Bantry. Currently, the council is taking sewerage one mile out of the town to be treated, which should have been done years ago. The council had to obtain foreshore rights for that because...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: The optics are confusing me a bit. This is a letter written to me in 2002 by the then Minister, Deputy Frank Fahey. It is a short letter dealing with consultation and what action can be taken about Bantry: "I am writing to inform you that I will approve Bantry Bay Harbour Commissioners' application for 33.3% grant aid for a new pier development." The important fact is the figure of 33.3%....

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: The Acting Chairman may be able to envisage a layer of silt and gravel two and a half times my height. That is what has to be dredged. Then we can bring in boats and make Bantry an operating facility. I cannot forget the Costello report. I will bring it in the next day and read a good part of the contents because it is a historic report. Legally, we cannot ignore it because somebody will...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: As the Acting Chairman appears to be tuned in to me, I will try not to repeat myself.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I accept the Acting Chairman's point but I will return to this subject. Barack Obama had a dream and his dream is fulfilled. People in Bantry had a dream also. I want to read into the record a press release that appeared in The Cork Examiner in January 1985. I was a mere garsún then. That was the year I first got elected to Cork County Council. It was written by an eminent reporter with...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: The article further states: She said the tests carried out yesterday would be used as a basis for making a submission to the EEC, and within 15 months, a scale model, costing about £20,000, would be submitted. It was hoped that the construction of the model would be carried out as a UCC post-graduate project. "What is being done today will lead to an analysis and from there to proper...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I understand the comments of the Minister of State, Deputy Ahern, and I am glad of his response. However, it is like the tale, The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Eventually people are asleep when the wolf comes and then the sheep are gone. The Minister of State referred in his response to the 1999 report, A Review of State Regional Ports and Harbours, also known as the KPMG report. There was another...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I am not. With all due respect, I am responding——

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I am speaking on amendment No. 7, which deals with consultation.

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: If that is the pressure being put on me, I have another way out of it by calling a vote and then taking a stance. However, I gave a commitment yesterday that I would not do that today. The Minister of State should not tempt fate because I feel very strongly about this. I will not be silenced, a Chathaoirligh, with all due respect. I am responding to the points made by the Minister of...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: I will take what the Minister of State says in good faith. We are talking about a horse of a different colour. The Department's ports policy statement was published in 2005. The harbours listed are: Annagassan Harbour, Arklow Harbour, Baltimore and Skibbereen Harbour, Kinsale Harbour, the River Moy Harbour, to which the Minister of State referred and which is under way, Sligo Harbour,...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2008)

Denis O'Donovan: At 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 11 November.