Results 361-380 of 417 for speaker:Michael Comiskey

Seanad: Housing Policy: Statements, Questions and Answers (28 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I welcome the Minister of State and thank her for her statement. We all welcome the move by Ulster Bank - the news broke this morning - on tracker mortgages, etc. It is important that the other banks take up the issue and make more money available, particularly to young people who want to get into the housing market. My question is about the derelict estates about which we are all talking...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I welcome the news from Ulster Bank this morning of a move on tracker mortgages whereby if a person wants to move house, he or she can hold a section of the tracker mortgage and borrow anything extra. This will have a positive effect and I call on the banks we, for the most part, own - Bank of Ireland and AIB - to follow suit. This will give people an opportunity to upgrade. There was good...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I want to share some good news about banks, for a change. MBNA in Carrick-on-Shannon has been sold, thereby protecting the 250 jobs in the Irish side of the business. It is no accident this welcome news was released on foot of the successful visit by the Taoiseach and Ministers to New York. It is very good news for the workers concerned after a period of great uncertainty. We must also...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I wish to raise the issue of local improvement schemes, LIS, that have been suspended and I ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar, to reconsider them. Such schemes are operated by county councils in different regions and only cost approximately €5 million. They entail the annual repair of roads and boreens to farmhouses and those who live off the main road....

Seanad: Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union: Statements (14 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: Were Ireland to reject the treaty, who would support us were we attacked again by market speculators? Moreover, who would lend money to the Government to keep running the services and to pay for social welfare benefits and the salaries of nurses, gardaí and all the other service providers? If no one will lend to us, who will fix the €16 billion deficit straight away? Doing so would...

Seanad: Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Dáil]: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: Or a stray one.

Seanad: Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Dáil]: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I welcome the Minister back to the House. I am pleased to speak on Committee and Remaining Stages of the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill. I thank the Minister for taking the time to address the House on this important Bill and for his recent attendance in the House on Second Stage. I also acknowledge the hard work of staff in the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine in...

Seanad: Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Dáil]: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I will be supporting the Government's amendments and the sections of the Bill. I want to refer to Senator Ó Domhnaill's welcome for the power of prayer. We all know there are indeed cures for orf, bleeding and sprains through the power of prayer. I welcome these remarks.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: According to a recent Deloitte report, 85% of chief financial officers agree that ministerial trips abroad are beneficial to the economy. Given the fact that arrangements have been made for St. Patrick's Day, we encourage the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the other Cabinet members travelling to the US to raise the issue of the undocumented Irish. I have raised the issue previously and am...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: On a point of order, a recent Deloitte report stated that 85% of chief financial officers-----

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: -----agree these trips are beneficial.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I thank the Senator for supporting my issue.

Seanad: Teagasc Advisory Offices (23 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I thank the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine for coming to the House to respond to my concerns about the future of the Teagasc centre in Manorhamilton. It came to light only last week that the centre's future was in question. A similar problem arose in 2003, when it appeared that Teagasc was planning to close its smaller offices throughout the country. Teagasc or its...

Seanad: Teagasc Advisory Offices (23 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I very much thank the Minister because it is so far, so good. I will be in touch with Teagasc about the issue and, hopefully, the office will remain open in Manorhamilton. I will have to wait and see what happens.

Seanad: Wind Turbines Bill 2012: Second Stage (22 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and am delighted to contribute to this debate. I commend the Labour Party on introducing this Bill. I support accelerating the green energy resolution. Renewable energy reduces dependence on fossil fuels, increases security of supply and reduces greenhouse gas emissions, thereby creating environmental benefits, delivering green jobs to the...

Seanad: Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (21 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: Next Tuesday.

Seanad: Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (21 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I welcome the Minister to the House and am pleased to speak on Second Stage of this Bill. I commend the Minister and his staff on their work on drafting the Bill. As the Minister outlined, the Bill amends the principal Act of 2005. It will make provision for the mutual recognition of qualifications and a register of individuals, and persons other than veterinary practitioners and...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I want to raise an issue that was doing the rounds in reports this morning in Sligo and Leitrim that the Teagasc office in Manorhamilton, County Leitrim, is to close. This purpose-built office was opened in the 1970s to give advice to farmers in the area. Recently, staff from Teagasc's Sligo office were moved there and the office now employs six people serving north Leitrim and north...

Seanad: Food Wastage: Motion (15 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: Ag leathuair tar éis a deich maidin amárach.

Seanad: Food Wastage: Motion (15 Feb 2012)

Michael Comiskey: I move: To delete all words after ''Seanad Éireann'' and substitute the following: ''noting that: - minimisation and management of food waste is being addressed under the national waste prevention programme and the plan covering the period 2009-12; - the Waste Management (Food Waste) Regulations 2009, on commercial food waste, introduced by the Department of the Environment, Community and...