Results 1-20 of 1,291 for speaker:Robbie Gallagher

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I congratulate the Cathaoirleach and the Leader and wish them well in their roles. I congratulate all the Senators on being elected to the House. I am very honoured and privileged to be elected here and to be among the fine body of people I see in front of me in this room. I compliment all the Senators on their contributions. I particularly compliment Senator Black whose contribution came...

Seanad: Poverty and Homelessness: Motion (15 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister of State and wish him well with this brief, probably one of the most important any Minister of State could now have. Much good has come out of this debate. We can all look back with hindsight but this is a case of looking forward, although we have to learn from the mistakes made by all concerned. Who in this room can say they have not made mistakes or done things...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: Will the Leader invite the relevant Minister or Ministers to the House to address an issue that is close to the hearts of people from rural Ireland, the cuts in funding for regional local roads? Thankfully, in recent years, a great deal of money has been spent on the surfacing of regional local roads and they were brought up to a satisfactory standard. Unfortunately, however, in recent...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: The Senator can go back if he likes.

Seanad: Death of Jo Cox, MP: Expressions of Sympathy (21 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I wish to be associated with the statements of sympathy to the family and friends of Jo Cox, MP. No one who had seen video clips of Jo over the past few days could fail to be impressed by the smiling, bubbly character that she exuded. She was someone who had already walked the walk in helping people at home and abroad through her work with Oxfam and in her constituency. I am sure that I am...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I join colleagues in wishing our soccer team all the best for tonight. It would be remiss of us not to congratulate our friends north of the Border on their magnificent achievement in qualifying for the last 16. We wish them well. It would be fantastic to have two teams in the quarter-finals. Hopefully, we will have two this time tomorrow. We look forward to the day when only one team...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: What has happened shows what we could achieve if we only had one team in the competition. I wish to say a few words about the overusage of antibiotics. Will the Leader use his good office and invite the Minister to address the House on this issue? Antibiotics were the medical miracle of the 20th century and were used as an essential part of everyday health care treatment. Unfortunately,...

Seanad: EU-UK Relations: Statements (22 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister to the Seanad for this important debate. People in Britain will make a crucial decision tomorrow. While the decision is for Britain to decide, Ireland is in a unique position heading into this week's vote as it is the only country in the European Union that shares a land border with the United Kingdom. Britain is our nearest neighbour and largest trading partner....

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Road Network (23 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Patrick O’Donovan, to the Chamber and congratulate him on his appointment. I have raised the issue of the rural roads infrastructure, particularly in Cavan and Monaghan. Many Members are well qualified to speak on this issue, as many of us have travelled throughout the country to get elected to this House. We may have travelled up a few...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Road Network (23 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I thank the Minister of State for his response. It is heartening to know that he comes from a similar neck of the woods to ours and can appreciate and relate to the point we make. I appeal to him, however, to raise in his discussions with the Minister, Deputy Ross, that, as I said before, the network is crumbling under our feet - or our tyres - and we are storing up more problems for...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I join Senators in congratulating the Irish soccer team on a fabulous performance last night. It is fair to say that we on these islands are not blessed with the most gifted of footballers, but they are gifted with heart and determination. They showed that in abundance last night. In discussing bravery, we should also mention the team management of Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane. They made...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: The under 20s rugby team will be in the World Cup final against England on Saturday. Combined with all of the GAA matches, sport is such a fantastic thing and we are fortunate. On a more local level, Monaghan General Hospital closed more than a decade ago, causing stress and annoyance for the people of that county. At the time, the HSE announced that a new primary care centre would be...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I join with Senators O'Mahony and Leyden who spoke about the Passport Office. I had occasion to contact it in the past week and there is no doubt that the staff there are inundated with requests, particularly at this time of year. With the anticipated spike as a result of Brexit and individuals from the North and from the UK applying for Irish passports, it is important that we are well...

Seanad: United Kingdom Referendum on European Union Membership: Statements (28 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister to the House. The UK's decision to leave the European Union is deeply disappointing. The referendum result is one the vast majority of people in this country did not want. If one lives in a Border town such as Monaghan, Letterkenny, or in Sligo or Louth, something fundamental changed last week. On Thursday night, most of us went to sleep thinking the result would be...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I rise to my feet today to speak about a development in the last number of days in which the talks between the Garda Representative Association, GRA, and the Department of Justice and Equality have broken down. It is very worrying. I understand that the GRA is frustrated that the commitments given during negotiations on the Lansdowne Road Agreement have not been adhered to by the...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I rise to highlight the issue of increased insurance costs. The current situation is totally unacceptable and unsustainable for many people. Premiums on insurance policies have increased by 30% or more in some instances. It is difficult to understand the reason this is happening at this time, given that figures revealed recently that insurance payouts in 2014 were €400 million, 36%...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: It is not on the Order Paper.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: It is not on the Order Paper.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I ask the Leader whether he would take on board the many issues surrounding Brexit. The one I wish to discuss today is the issue of third-level students and the Brexit vote. As everybody in this room knows, many students from all over Ireland, particularly from Border counties, attend universities both in Northern Ireland and the UK. There is a reciprocal arrangement for students from the...

Seanad: Farm Safety: Statements (6 Jul 2016)

Robbie Gallagher: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and wish him well in his role. When it comes to farm safety, it is said that it is often the simple things that can make the difference between life and death. That was a message that came out of an all-island farm safety conference held in Monaghan last year. One farmer explained how he had lost his leg after a piece of his overalls got entangled in a...