Results 101-120 of 566 for speaker:Niall Ó Brolcháin

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Statements (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: It is certainly not a flaky thing now and it is still a Green thing. We would be delighted if other parties looked for ownership of the issue. People use interesting phrases when they talk to me about this. Senator Carroll referred to the wind Arabs and that we have the potential to be the wind Arabs of the future. We need to be careful about this because we are talking about sustainable...

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Statements (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I could speak for three hours on this subject. We do not pay much attention to hydropower. The capacity is not huge. We have built Ardnacrusha but there is capacity of between 1 MW and 2 MW on the River Corrib. This is consistent and does not just arise when the wind blows. The Minister of State also mentioned biomass and other renewable technologies. We must also consider biofuels....

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I commend the comments of Independent Members, in particular, as I would like the Leader to arrange a debate on the need to stimulate the economy. There is a great deal of doom and gloom, but we also need to remember the positive aspects. I have in my hand a report that presents many issues in a positive light and there are still many good developments occurring. For example, eight of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I want to share some good news with the House because we have heard enough bad news.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Some 24,000 people are employed in medical technology companies in Ireland, the exports of which are valued at €6.9 billion per annum. Irish companies have invested €189 billion abroad, whereas foreign companies have invested some €169 billion here. These are up-to-date figures.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Half of the world's fleet of leased aircraft are managed in Ireland. Some 16,000 people are employed in forestry, a sector that has exports valued at €1.9 billion. Funds to a value of some €1.4 trillion are managed in Ireland. The value of exports has increased significantly, while the value of imports has decreased. Senator Donohoe referred to industrial disputes. The number of...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: They are running scared.

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to the House. I note that he tends to listen to people and to take views onboard. He generally gets his Bills through with the minimum of opposition as a result. This has been a good debate. It is great to take part in a relatively normal debate given all that is going on around us. It was great to hear Senator Quinn's anecdotes about the postal...

Seanad: Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Yes, I still have them but I do not collect them any longer. I remember when I got my first Penny Black. It was a major event to get my hands on the first stamp in the world. It was extraordinary to see it. I also collected Penny Reds and other British stamps. The first Irish stamps were overprints. It is quite interesting that instead of printing our own stamps we put an overprint on...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I note the comments this morning of the leaders of the main Opposition parties which were extremely responsible. I very much welcome this. I call on the Leader to arrange a debate on systemic change to our political system which does not cope well in a time of crisis and leads to barracking and pettiness on the part of the Opposition.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: It is a time for calm and cool heads. As Senators on the other side said, we are in the final days of the Government and it is important that we do not play politics such that we add to the mess in the difficult situation in which we find ourselves. There is now clarity, but we must look forward. We had enormous difficulties in the 1980s with which our system did not cope. It was because...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: We need a new style of politics in a time of major national crisis.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I share the concerns that many Senators have raised today, but the most important for question for debate was raised by Senator Quinn. He was very responsible. Many in this country are fearful and he is talking about having a proper debate on the way forward for this country, and that is the correct approach to take right now. He pointed out that in Denmark there are 23,000 employed in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: What is Senator Buttimer's plan?

Seanad: Prohibition of Depleted Uranium Weapons Bill 2009: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I will be brief. I commend all Senators on their positive approach to this important landmark legislation. I particularly commend the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, for his positive contribution. He took the trouble to sit down with the Green Party Senators on a number of occasions to discuss the issue. It is obvious that we want to move forward on a Europe-wide basis also. We need to...

Seanad: Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (17 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: I was elected to this House in a by-election in 2009. I was a new Green Senator and was green in every sense of the word. Kieran sat behind me and I got to chat with him. I got to know him quite well. He took me under his wing and explained to me what the hell was going on in this place because I did not really know. Most Members were elected in 2007. Kieran helped me more than almost...

Seanad: National Paediatric Hospital: Statements (17 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: We were listening very carefully.

Seanad: National Paediatric Hospital: Statements (17 Nov 2010)

Niall Ó Brolcháin: There was a Minister's speech.