Results 21-40 of 566 for speaker:Niall Ó Brolcháin

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Report and Final Stages (29 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: This is an important recommendation. It is what the people want and would enhance the finance Bill. Therefore, I support it.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I welcome the Minister. There is an element of motherhood and apple pie with regard to this recommendation. As somebody who has worked as a cost accountant in the past, I agree with the need for cost benefit analyses and I commend the Labour Party on bringing forward the recommendation. The notion of a cost benefit analysis for almost every aspect of government is crucial and there should...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Everybody would like to see a cost benefit analysis done, but I would be happy if the Minister committed to informing his officials that it should go ahead while the rest of us are out fighting on the hustings. Then, the new government, whoever is involved, whether the Labour Party, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil or, heaven forbid as some might say, the Green Party, should begin by doing things the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011: Second Stage (28 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I welcome the Bill. Its presentation has been a key issue for my party, as Senator Dearey rightly pointed out. We considered it was crucial for us to stay in government to ensure its safe passage because it was our belief that if we did not do so, it would cost the country a great deal of money. There are myriad reasons that would happen in terms of business confidence and our ability to...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: As this might be the last Order of Business of this Seanad, although I hope it is not and that we can make it through to Friday, I wish you, a Chathaoirligh, and everybody else who works here, as well as all of my colleagues, well. I hope I can make this speech again on Saturday, but it has been a great privilege to be a Member of the House. It has been a pleasure to work with you, a...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I am sorry, it was a Freudian slip. I mean Friday and Saturday. Senators are anxious to give the Bill a fair hearing. They are anxious to speak to it and consider it carefully, as it is important legislation. It is worth sitting late, very late, if necessary, to ensure all aspects can be properly debated. Let us go out in a blaze of glory and ensure we do a very good job on it. A...

Seanad: Student Support Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (25 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Will the Minister of State look carefully at this issue? It is important we progress the Bill in a spirit of consensus. The Green Party is supportive of the Bill, as I believe is everyone in the House. It would be nice, in the final days of the Seanad, if we could come to a consensus on this matter and find a solution that fits everyone. The Green Party supports the Bill's overall...

Seanad: Student Support Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (25 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Senator Healy Eames is being sensible here and I ask the Minister of State to look carefully at her amendment. Overall, the Bill is one we should all support.

Seanad: Student Support Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (25 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I am delighted to note that peace has broken out in the Seanad, which is very important. I congratulate the Minister of State, one of the few remaining, on the passage of the Bill.

Seanad: Student Support Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (25 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I also thank the many others who have been involved in its passage, including the public servants and those who have been involved in drafting and lobbying. As Senator Norris rightly noted, this is legislation in which the Seanad can take pride. Senator Healy Eames spoke very eloquently and while I look forward to doing battle with her in due course, for the present it is great to join her...

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2011: Second Stage (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: May I share time with Senator Mary White?

Seanad: Road Traffic Bill 2011: Second Stage (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I welcome the Minister and commend him on this initiative and the initiatives he brought before us previously. In a radio interview after he had announced his intention to retire, the Minister was asked what his legacy would be. He said a considerable number of people were alive as a result of legislation he had helped to bring through the Houses. That is an extremely important legacy and...

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I thank the Senator for that remark.

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Alexandra White. Members of the Opposition are to be congratulated on the fantastic contortions they are doing on the Bill. We have heard, for instance, that the legislation has been rushed. Extensive work and consultation has taken place on the Bill for the past year and a half and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was...

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Having said that, the final target of 80% by 2050 is consistent in both Bills and will be achieved. I have a background in business and systems analysis, an area in which targets are always set. It is extraordinary to hear targets discussed in what appears to be an uneducated manner. One cannot achieve a target without first setting it. If one is trying to achieve something, it is vital...

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: It is time to stop the contortions. The reality is we need the Climate Change Response Bill. We need to play our part in the world. This is not just about little Ireland; this is about the world. We do not exist independently of the rest of the world. People can say China pollutes but that country is working very hard to reduce its carbon emissions. I do not want Ireland to lag behind...

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: They are not accurate but they are alarming.

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: They might be better than us. The Deputy should get his fact rights.

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: We want to be ahead and not behind in this area.

Seanad: Climate Change Response Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (19 Jan 2011)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: That is wrong.