Results 1-20 of 66 for likes to work speaker:Niall Blaney

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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...

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....

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

Niall Blaney: ...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 both jurisdictions." I would have liked to have seen more beef to the...

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

Niall Blaney: ...position on the legacy Act. My colleagues and I are very pleased about 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...

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

Niall Blaney: ...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...

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

Niall Blaney: ...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 on Human Rights is at the heart of the Good Friday Agreement. I reiterate that...

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...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Impact of Brexit on the Divergence of Rights and Best Practice on the Island of Ireland: Discussion (29 Jun 2023)

Niall Blaney: The witnesses are welcome. It is great to see three chief commissioners, who are all female. Congratulations on that. It is not very often that we see that in the Houses of the Oireachtas. It is really hard to believe that in 2023, the approach to human rights is as it is. I do not even think that the approach to human rights was as bad in Margaret Thatcher's day as it is at the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (25 May 2023)

Niall Blaney: I thank all the deputation from Glencree for their attendance. They are most welcome. I apologise for being late but I had to attend the Dáil to attend tributes paid to the late Noel Treacy, who was the first Chair of this committee. It is fitting that we keep him in our minds today because he was the ultimate republican who was very much behind the work that went on, as it does...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Engagement with Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation (25 May 2023)

Niall Blaney: I agree but those are things that need to happen at a macro level. There needs to be engagement between Government, including with Stormont and Stormont needs to be in place. In the meantime, how can we actively engage? I am thinking about the need to engage more with unionism. We have been in places like Ballymurphy and Springhill. We do not have massive engagement from unionists....

Seanad: Location of Victims' Remains: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: ...: “That Seanad Éireann: recognising that: - there were nineteen people who ‘disappeared’ as a result of paramilitary organisations during the Troubles/Conflict; - of these nineteen, to date fourteen of the victims have been recovered, with five still missing; - Lisa Dorrian who disappeared in 2005 and Gareth O’Connor who disappeared in 2003 are...

Seanad: Location of Victims' Remains: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: I was not expecting to conclude so quickly. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, to the conclusion of the debate. We had a good discussion with the Minister and he has acceded to the request to reopen and review the case by meeting the families concerned. We are delighted with that news. To refer to the speech made by Senator Currie. There is something rotten that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Lord Empey (9 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: Lord Empey is very welcome in joining us here today. I am delighted to see him with us as probably the last contributor to this series in relation to the architects of the Good Friday Agreement. At the outset, it is really important we put on record the contribution of Lord Empey, his then leader David Trimble, who sadly is no longer with us, and his party in what they did in achieving...

Seanad: Good Friday Agreement and Windsor Framework: Motion (8 Mar 2023)

Niall Blaney: ...us this evening for Sinn Féin's Private Members' motion. I will start by saying that Fianna Fáil welcomes this debate. We agree with all four aspects of the motion as stated. We compliment Senator Ó Donnghaile and his party for the considered approach that has been taken in the motion to its context and, moreover, the approach the Sinn Féin party has taken to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: Architects of the Good Friday Agreement (Resumed): Ms Liz O'Donnell (16 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome Ms O'Donnell. It is great to see her and get the insight she has. It is quite an insight, all 12 pages of it. It is a precise recollection of her memories of that time. Senator Currie and I were adamant in doing this piece of work. As Ms O’Donnell has outlined, given the difficulties that have arisen as a result of the Good Friday Agreement and the situation today, if we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement: The Economic and Social Benefits of the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement: IBEC (9 Feb 2023)

Niall Blaney: I welcome Mr. O'Brien, Ms Gallagher and Mr. D'Arcy. It is good to have them present. I commend them on their approach to the Good Friday Agreement. The business perspective is very important to have a joined-up approach on an all-island basis. It is fresh. The reality is business in this country and in particular in Northern Ireland has led politics. A lot of business people have been...