Results 1-20 of 1,591 for speaker:Eugene Regan

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Eugene Regan: I wish to raise an issue that is current and relevant. On the first meeting of the House two weeks ago, Members suggested that were such issues to be discussed, perhaps more interest would be taken in the Seanad's work. I wish to raise the unexplained payments to the most senior political figure in the land, that is, the outcome to date of the Mahon tribunal. I call for a debate on...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Eugene Regan: The McCracken report regarding the Dunnes payment inquiry established the test that even when no proof of corruption or of a quid pro quo for payments exists, the making of payments of such magnitude to a politician creates a suspicion of corruption and has a corroding effect on the body politic. Ultimately, the courts and the tribunals established by the Oireachtas are the last defence...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Eugene Regan: I wish to continue and have almost finished.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Eugene Regan: I am disappointed by the interruptions because this is an important issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Eugene Regan: The courts and the tribunals established by the Oireachtas are very important to upholding the rule of law. Notwithstanding the length of time for which the tribunals have been obliged to operate, starting with the McCracken tribunal they have been fundamental in unearthing massive political corruption and unacceptable behaviour and standards in public office.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2007)

Eugene Regan: The Mahon tribunal has carried out its work. It has identified unexplained significant payments to the Taoiseach and the integrity of that tribunal should be upheld by this Chamber. Two issues have arisen. It is a political dimension to a legal process - the tribunal is effectively a legal process but there is a political dimension. We now know so much more than we did last year when there...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: A European Council meeting on 18 and 19 October will finally adopt the reform treaty which will be put to a referendum here. At the previous European summit which dealt with this, an issue arose in regard to the Charter of Fundamental Rights in which the Taoiseach indicated that Ireland might exercise some opt out from that charter. That was subsequently clarified when there was a certain...

Seanad: Coroners Bill 2007: Second Stage (4 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: I welcome the Minister to the House. As the Fine Gael spokesman on justice, I am delighted to address this Bill. I welcome the fact that the Minister has listed this legislation among one of his priorities. It was listed in the Government's legislative programme for 2003-04 and then it was to be available in 2005. The report of the working group on the review of the coroner service was...

Seanad: Coroners Bill 2007: Second Stage (4 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: The new Minister will do that.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: Last week I called for a debate on the possibility of Ireland's opting out of the EU criminal and policing measures provided for in the new reform treaty. It was agreed to have an urgent debate on this matter. We now know that the decision has been made by the Government. However, it is rather discourteous to this House and to the Lower House that there has been no debate on what is...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: We have spent 35 years carving out an individual approach for Ireland in EU matters, but this time we have locked ourselves into a British opt-out which will inhibit our negotiating position in an area of fundamental importance. Cross-border crime has a direct and adverse impact on this country. I wish to highlight the discourtesy of the Government in not allowing a debate on this matter in...

Seanad: Access to Education: Motion (10 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: The problem we are discussing is essentially one of planning and integration. It represents a failure of education policy. There is a constitutional right to education, which entails a right to ethos education. To commence the argument based on the issue of ethos education misses the point. The right to ethos education is given expression in a detailed legislative framework under which...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: When I called two weeks ago for a debate on the opt-out from the EU structures for police and judicial co-operation in criminal matters, the Leader kindly agreed to hold such a debate. Unfortunately, the Government subsequently made a decision on the matter in the absence of debate in this House or the Lower House. The Dáil discussed the matter yesterday, albeit after the event, but we are...

Seanad: Serious Crime: Motion (17 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: I move: That Seanad Eireann, noting: the upsurge in the brutal killing of citizens across the country; the dramatic increase in gun crime in our society; the poor detection rate for gun crime; and the inexorable growth in gangland drug-related crime calls on the Government to admit that it, and the last Government, have failed to ensure that the streets of Ireland are safe from vicious thugs...

Seanad: Serious Crime: Motion (17 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: The Minister claims the Fine Gael Party's motion was tendentious and opportunistic, despite his agreeing that gun and gangland crime is a major problem. He also agrees with the essential statement in the motion, that "adequate resources for our Garda, effective criminal legislation and innovative policing methods" are needed to tackle the crime problem. The Minister does not agree, however,...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: I want to follow up on what Senator Fitzgerald said about last week's debate on gangland crime. As Senator Fitzgerald said, the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, displayed no sense of urgency about this problem. He did not suggest any new legislation or the provision of additional resources, and there was nothing from him regarding a change in policing methods. He described the motion as...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second and Subsequent Stages (24 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: I welcome the Minister and appreciate that he has personally presented the Bill to this House. I have no difficulties with the Bill and, in fact, the matter to which it refers has only recently come to light. A number of criminal law practitioners brought it to my attention last week. I welcome the Minister's comprehensive explanation. It was an inadvertent oversight and essentially a...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: I support Senator Fitzgerald's call for information and a debate on the issue of pensions in the light of the decision of the Tánaiste, Deputy Cowen, regarding the former Minister. A genuine issue is reflected in Senan Molony's article in today's Irish Independent about a garda with no pension despite many years' service in the force. I am sure many others are in a similar position. The...

Seanad: Witness Protection Programme Bill 2007: Second Stage (31 Oct 2007)

Eugene Regan: This Labour Party Bill is appropriate and opportune. During the debate on crime two weeks ago, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, outlined his ideas on how gun crime and gangland crime might be counteracted. There were no new ideas presented, only self-justification and congratulatory statements, and an amendment was tabled to the motion. The motion...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Nov 2007)

Eugene Regan: Yesterday I raised the fiasco of the new rules for provisional driving licences, the recent inordinate salary increases the Government chose to award itself which bear no comparison with those applicable in other member states of the European Union or even the United States, and the legislation for an individual's pension entitlements. I indicated that this characterised a Government which...