Results 301-320 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage. (18 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I ask the Minister to come back to the question of the reason he engaged us in this issue about the point of embarkation when the legislation for which he is responsible deals with people on board the vehicles in question. Why will he not deal with what is included in the Bill, that is, people on board vehicles? He has repeatedly used the argument that this is the only country which does not...

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage. (18 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: As the Minister knows and many have explained, the Dublin Convention has not worked. Therefore, to try to use as an argument something that has never worked, never been applied and never been tested is vacuous. We are talking here about people who will have no documents. That is the fundamental reality – the Minister has spoken a lot about getting real. In every conflict in the world, of...

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage. (18 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I am not. The Minister and Senator Mansergh raised the issue of asylum seekers and documents.

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage. (18 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I am about to conclude in the face of the Acting Chairman's considerable tolerance. This is not just a Labour Party argument. All the arguments about the complexities and difficulties of the legislation have been articulated by virtually every voluntary group in the State concerned about the rights of asylum seekers. These are people who work with asylum seekers, care and provide services for...

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage. (18 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I am not sure if the Senator is insulting me or the Minister.

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage. (18 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: Does it say that in the Bill?

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage. (18 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: There is no mention of check-in desks in our amendment.

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: On a serious note, there is widespread coverage in this morning's newspapers of a leaked document – apparently an internal Government briefing on the Northern Ireland situation. Without going into detail, it apparently says, among other things, that the IRA is still recruiting new members in Northern Ireland. I do not wish to make an unrealistic demand for a debate on this as I know the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I heard that, Senator, but I have heard worse from that side of the House. It is also the first time I have spoken on such an occasion in a leadership position. I join my colleagues in paying tribute to the staff of the House, whom I annoy with late amendments and a capacity to delay proceedings. They have an incredible spirit of public service, a concept one should never dismiss. The staff...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: —I am probably not as eloquent as I would otherwise be. In particular, I pay tribute to Mr. John McCabe. I am here so long that I have been in the Oireachtas for much of John's career. He epitomises a spirit of helpfulness and genuine good humour. On numerous occasions when the committee rooms were located in Kildare House, he rescued me from heading in the wrong direction to a committee...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: Yes. Kildare House was a warren of confusing corridors. One could not hope to meet a more helpful person or a better model of public service. I wish him a long and happy retirement and hope he is as well rewarded as a consequence of Senator O'Toole's efforts as the Senator claims he will be. I wish you, a Chathaoirligh, a happy Christmas. I hope we have a long and peaceful Christmas holiday...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: We would have more interesting times.

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I am far from infallible, particularly this morning. We raised a number of issues on this section last night and I do not wish to be repetitious, but the section and many of the arguments in defence of it are being dealt with in a different fashion. The section begins with the phrase: "Where a vehicle arrives in the State from a place other than Great Britain or Northern Ireland.". The...

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I was absent for a while, a Leas-Chathaoirligh, but no doubt you will remind me if I become repetitious. We have all received documentation this morning from Amnesty International, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties and, most significantly, the Irish Refugee Council taking exception to the whole issue of carrier liability and pointing out that it has not achieved what it hoped it would...

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: The judgment of Ministers is a matter of concern and that judgment seems to be harsher under the present regime. This provision makes life more miserable for people whose lives are already miserable. It potentially criminalises large numbers of innocent people. I do not believe these checks will be operated with the rigour the Minister seeks. I do not recall any particularly thorough checks...

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: It is supposed to be legal here.

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: It would be very simple—

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I appreciate that, and the Chair's indulgence, or rather his patience, if not his indulgence, or at least his silence, if not his patience.

Seanad: Immigration Bill, 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (19 Dec 2002)

Brendan Ryan: I would not dream of doing so, especially this morning. It would be very simple to draft legislation which made clear what procedures a commercial carrier had to operate in good faith before he or she brought anyone into the State. The legislation would state he or she was under a legal obligation to ensure certain things. The Bill before the House criminalises people unnecessarily. With the...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy. (29 Jan 2003)

Brendan Ryan: I did not know the former Senator Farrell, but on behalf of the Labour Party I would like to express our sympathies to her husband and children. The former Senator was an exceptional person because, as Senator Hayes said, women were rare in politics in those days and female business people were even rarer. I knew Roscommon slightly in the middle to late 1960s. To set up a business there and...