Results 101-117 of 117 for speaker:John Bruton
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: It is dangerous to make any reference of this kind in the Seanad of all places, but I hope Senators will forgive me. While I would not wish to politicise such decisions, there must be a more developed mechanism whereby elected politicians, at national and European level, can get those who do make those decisions to explain their decisions or, perhaps more often, to explain why they are...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: That is not the story of my life.
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: One of the reasons I brought forward the notion of directly electing the President of the European Commission was not because the President would be in a position of great power but because it was a way, every five years, of allowing people in Ireland, Britain, Latvia and Italy to make a choice about an individual. That making of a choice about an individual would be the best way of getting...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: We are having a lively debate. A lively debate is also going on within the Government. The atmosphere among the Irish delegation to the Convention is open and frank. The Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, Deputy Roche, without breaking any confidences, tells me the concerns of the Government and the range of opinions within it. I respect that. Last week I sent him a...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: Thank you. He says the same thing in private.
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: In my work in the Presidium, I represent the national parliamentarians of Europe who elected me to the position. I do not represent the Government or an Irish position. In chairing the group, I have to seek compromises, some of which Deputy Pat Carey, on behalf of the Government, did not agree with. I have a job to do and I try to reconcile different imperatives. I have imperatives from my...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: If this is to be the basis of a constitution that is to last for 30 or 50 years as Giscard d'Estaing says, why not do it now? What is the point of complaining in five years' time that the people are not interested if they have not been given the opportunity to have a say? While I do not think the proposal of the Government is perfect, I am attracted to it because it leaves the door open. If...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: One must get 5% in Germany.
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: To take Senator Fitzgerald's last point, the European Union's charter of fundamental rights was drawn up to be an EU version of the European Convention on Human rights but with some additional social rights added on, including the right to free placement services, consultation in the workplace and other such matters not included in the original charter. It is likely to be introduced as part...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: That is the choice. Senator Maurice Hayes asked how the 114 amendments to the 16 articles would be dealt with. We will decide in the Presidium which amendments are best and put an amended version to the Convention. We could not go through each one of them individually. The idea of a double majority, to which the Senator referred, instead of the complicated qualified majority voting system...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: In Ireland.
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: My apologies for my misunderstanding as regards the time of this debate. I am delighted to have the opportunity to respond to the points made by Senators. Senator Mansergh is correct that persuading the French and British to give up their seats on the Security Council would be extremely difficult. While I am not aware of any serious efforts to push such a possibility, it is a logical...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: I was going to say Superquinn. My message, in other words, is that one must have higher quality representation, which is the reason Superquinn came to mind. I do not mean to be critical of our public administration, but it is probably unavoidable. Its approach to European affairs must become less reactive, defensive and focused on identifying potential problems for us in proposals emanating...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: The spirit of my remarks was addressed to the 60% of the population of Donegal who did not vote, rather than the Senator. I appreciate Senator Hanafin's comments. The wording we proposed with regard to the question of including a reference to God in the proposed constitution is entirely non-sectarian. It includes people who do not believe in God as well as believers from the Muslim, Jewish...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: It is not a system I would recommend. In fact, it is an awful system. Our electoral system is much better and we should be very proud of it.
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: She is doing well. Her name is Ana Botella. I do not know the answer to the question put by Senator Bannon about the charter of local government. I will investigate whether there is any recognition of that charter in the European Union. As the Senator is aware, that is a Council of Europe charter, which has a different provenance to the European Union, but there is no reason it cannot be...
- Seanad: Convention on the Future of Europe: Statements. (12 Mar 2003)
John Bruton: No so much in COREPER because it is preparing for the Council of Ministers and the Ministers keep an eye on what is going on in COREPER. However, there is no scrutiny of some of the other management committees which implement legislation. One action we hope to take in the Convention is to introduce more scrutiny and visibility in terms of what is being done in these various committees. It...