Results 261-280 of 4,295 for speaker:Catherine Noone

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2011)

Catherine Noone: I join others in acknowledging the welcome I have received as a new Senator. I have been overwhelmed by what has happened in the past six months. In ways it has been tough, as it can be difficult to switch off in politics. One can be totally consumed and overwhelmed by the process and that is how I felt for a little while. Overall, however, it has been a positive experience and I feel...

Seanad: Suicide Prevention: Statements (12 Jan 2012)

Catherine Noone: I welcome the Minister of State, my party colleague, Deputy Derek Keating, and the group from Clondalkin which is accompanying him. Their interest in this matter has been recognised by numerous speakers. This is a welcome debate because the issue of suicide needs to be discussed in general and specific terms in the Houses and community at large. We need to be aware of the importance of...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jan 2012)

Catherine Noone: While it is clear there is a degree of dissatisfaction with the Croke Park agreement, it is important to emphasise its positive aspects. For example, it means there is industrial peace in the country and no Member seeks to have public sector workers taking to the streets. It also must be emphasised, however, that managers and public sector workers in general must buy into the Croke Park...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jan 2012)

Catherine Noone: I welcome Senator O'Donovan's approval of the two initiatives announced by the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, which are certain to create jobs. It is worth elaborating further on these initiatives in the context of our recent debate. The first initiative is the immigrant investor programme, which will grant visas to participants on a five year basis. From the outset the...

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2012)

Catherine Noone: I welcome the news today that 800 jobs are to be created by Sky in this constituency. It has been rare in recent years to hear of the creation of such a large number of jobs in one day. As well as expressing concern about job losses, we need to also acknowledge when there is an announcement of jobs to be created. This is a positive development. I congratulate Enterprise Ireland on...

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: It was well able to spend.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: That is what we are doing.

Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: Could we get back to the point?

Seanad: Local Government Reform: Statements, Questions and Answers (1 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: Will the quotas, in their current format, apply to local elections beyond 2016? Parties, including Fine Gael, intend to apply their own mechanisms to local election quotas in 2014. Will there be official quotas in 2019 and beyond?

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: I compliment RTE on its current series, "Operation Transformation". It has got people moving around the country and it is making them aware of the problem we have. It highlighted to me the fact that food chains, in particular fast food chains, are not doing what is being done in the United States and in the United Kingdom now, namely, displaying food calories on their menu boards. The...

Seanad: Order of Business. (7 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: I want to raise a matter of concern that relates to the Luas connector. It can be added to the list of issues that need to be brought to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Varadkar. An Bord Pleanála has raised concerns about this issue. The original plan was that the Luas connector would be built after the DART underground and metro north projects. If that does not happen, certain...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Political Funding Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (7 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: It should not be.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Political Funding Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (7 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: My time is short, so I will just make some brief observations. I commend the Minister on his work on this issue. I remember asking the Minister a question at a Fine Gael Party conference meeting once on this issue and remember commenting that I had never come up against any difficulty because of the fact I was a woman at that point in my life in politics. I was on the council at the time....

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: This morning I read about the report of the steering group on the national substance misuse strategy which revealed that in 2010, the average Irish adult consumed 11.9 litres of pure alcohol which one can translate into 482 pints of lager, 125 bottles of wine or 45 bottles of vodka. Bearing in mind that 19% of Irish adults are abstainers, the actual consumption is considerable. Worryingly,...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: I would be grateful if we could have a debate in the near future in which ideas can be put forward on how we can address the serious drink culture in this country.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: Because it is so big.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: I join colleagues in welcoming the Government's jobs plan announced yesterday. I particularly welcome its specific targets which means it is more likely to succeed with the creation of 100,000 jobs by 2016 and a further 100,000 by 2020. I have read the jobs plan and I am impressed. It proves that job creation is at the centre of the Government's focus. Two measures caught my eye. First...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: Some months ago our Taoiseach was to the fore in raising the issue of cloud computing. This is a buzz word for many and I am sure many Members do not have a clue what it is about.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2012)

Catherine Noone: Does Senator O'Brien mean that includes me? I beg to differ on that. I believe the Government should switch its e-mail and document services from expensive outdated servers to some sort of cloud-based system. This proposal would save approximately €10 million over five years, which incidentally is roughly the amount that would be saved by the abolition of the Seanad. We should give...