Results 1-20 of 158 for at speaker:Niall Blaney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Shared Island Unit: Department of the Taoiseach (7 Mar 2024)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Chair. Donegal people have spread their wings throughout Ireland and beyond. I thank Ms Deane and Mr. Duffy for being here today and for their presentation. I am sorry I was not here for all of it. The work they do is vital for the future of this island. They are doing some fantastic work and long may it continue. The recent announcement was very good. Following on from...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Projects (21 Feb 2024)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber for this debate on the A5, the N2 and the TEN-T in the North. It was fantastic that there was an announcement yesterday of €600 million for the A5. It is brilliant news. I would like to know where everything moves from here. The A5 has been the blockage for so long. I remember being told on air by some of the Acting Chair's...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Projects (21 Feb 2024)

Niall Blaney: I agree with everything in the Minister of State's statement. Yesterday's news that the Irish Government's money is back on the table was absolutely fantastic. I implore both the UK Government and the Stormont Administration to step up now and make this project a reality. I ask the Minister of State to take a message back to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and the Department of Transport. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Key Issues Affecting Youth: North South Youth Forum (15 Feb 2024)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Chairman. I also thank Ms Ní hUisceith, Ms Lindsay, Ms Morton, Ms Whelan, Mr. O'Connell and Mr. Taylor very much for their presentations here today. It is fantastic to come in here to a full house. A lot of the time, particularly during Covid, we would be in here talking to a screen. It is good to have the witnesses here in person and moreover to hear their views. It is...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: All-Ireland Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Dec 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome Mr. Kelly, Mr. Neill and Mr. Roberts and thank them from their presentations. Mr. Kelly gave a very positive outlook in relation to manufacturing in Northern Ireland. There is an enormous number of businesses. The figure is shocking. One would never think that Mr. Kelly would represent 4,500 in Manufacturing Northern Ireland. That says so much about the sector. Moreover, there...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: All-Ireland Economy: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Dec 2023)

Niall Blaney: I just have a few things to address to Mr. Kelly. He and Deputy Tully were starting to develop a conversation there on immigration. Once we open the issue of immigration in this country, there is nearly a tendency to say you are anti-immigration. Mr. Kelly was coming at it this morning from the perspective of how much we need immigrants. I do not think anyone here would disagree with him....

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Road Safety (28 Nov 2023)

Niall Blaney: The Minister of State is very welcome. I have been notified that the Minister for Transport is unavailable today. I thank the Minister of State for coming in to take this Commencement matter. I have done this on foot of correspondence I received from a retired commandant in the Army who has been talking to many of his friends about the proposals by TII to shut off lay-bys on motorways....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: All-Ireland Economy: Discussion (23 Nov 2023)

Niall Blaney: Yes, please, Chairman. I appreciate that. I thank both witnesses for coming here and I thank Mr. Mac Flynn for the presentation. I am, however, a little taken aback by the approach NERI is taking as regards its presentation. Mr. Mac Flynn stated "Our mission is to produce research that will guide and inform policies that lead to the creation of sustainable and inclusive economies in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: All-Ireland Economy: Discussion (23 Nov 2023)

Niall Blaney: I am not sure anybody here has a problem with that but I would like to see NERI start to look at the detail of what is and is not working in Northern Ireland and what is and is not working down south. Let us then start to examine the areas worth looking at. What Mr. Mac Flynn is saying can act in a productive manner, and that is where I would like to have been today, rather than having this...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Renewable Energy Generation (21 Nov 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I raise this matter and call on the Government and European Union to act swiftly to deal with the dumping of electricity generated by renewable sources, particularly in rural areas. I can speak only in real terms of County Donegal. The situation there, as I know it, is that most of the energy produced by the wind farms and hydro station is...

Committee on Scrutiny of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments: Consideration of Draft EU-related Statutory Instruments (21 Nov 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his detailed opening statement. One of my main reasons for coming here today was not to ask the Minister of State about the content of his speech but to raise a number of queries I have received in the last 24 to 36 hours regarding proposals for people over the age of 70 to have to re-sit their driving test or have training in regard to their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Impact of the UK's Illegal Migration Act 2023 on the Good Friday Agreement: Discussion (16 Nov 2023)

Niall Blaney: That slot ran to 15 minutes. Do members want to move to 15-minute slots or leave it at ten? Ten is fine, okay. I do not know if Mr. Corrigan picked up on it at the beginning of the meeting but each party has a ten-minute slot. He gave a lot of good information so I could not stop him when he was in mid-flow. I thank him for that. I will go back to the rotation as it was. I call Senator...

Seanad: The Political Situation in Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2023)

Niall Blaney: ...this as we await a positive outcome from a court case taken before the European Court of Human Rights. We are in a very difficult period trying to get an Executive up and running in Northern Ireland. Recently I attended the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly in Kildare. It was also attended by the Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker. We all need to be careful about...

Seanad: The Political Situation in Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Oct 2023)

Niall Blaney: Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by An Taoiseach (28 Sep 2023)

Niall Blaney: The Taoiseach is most welcome. I will begin by addressing the UK's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023, which is the one issue on this island that unites all in opposition to it. This Act should look after victims and their families. They should be front and centre of that legislation but the complete opposite is the case. In regard to a case before the European...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Finance and Economics: Discussion (Resumed) (28 Sep 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Chair, Mr. O'Brien and Mr. D'Arcy for being here this morning. Their good counsel is always very welcome. At the outset I concur with their thoughts regarding IBEC's campaign in relation to the Good Friday Agreement. I attended one of the events and it was brilliant so I congratulate IBEC on that endeavour. Mr. O'Brien had quite a bit to say in his presentation. Could he give...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Northern Ireland (27 Sep 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House this morning. I propose to speak to the UK Government's Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Act 2023. Over the past year, I have met with Lord Caine, who seemed to take the lead on this on behalf of the UK Government, on three separate occasions. I will say at the outset how disappointed I am in him from what he told...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Northern Ireland (27 Sep 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank the Minister of State for his response. Victims will not take a lot from it but what can be taken from it is the statement that the Act undermines the fundamental rights of the people in Northern Ireland and, in so doing, damages the process of reconciliation we have worked so hard to progress. That is absolutely right. The Minister of State is correct that the European Convention...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Finance and Economics: Discussion (13 Jul 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome the witnesses. It has been an interesting debate. The longer the presentation went on, the more I was sitting back here and the clearer it became that to make this constitutional change happen is a much bigger task than any of us realise. This will particularly be the case if matters are not resolved regarding the political baggage in Northern Ireland. It is a pretty much...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: An Garda Síochána (29 Jun 2023)

Niall Blaney: The Minister of State is welcome. While the wording of my Commencement matter refers to a Garda station in Donegal, a station is not necessarily what we need. This is more to do with the Garda review that is taking place across the country. I am here to pitch on behalf of the people in Donegal and also a representative group that wrote to me recently, namely, the Donegal Public...