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Results 81-100 of 159 for speaker:Billy Lawless

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Nov 2017)

Billy Lawless: On 11 October I raised the issue of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya people from their homes in the Rakhine state of Myanmar. It deeply disturbs me that, despite worldwide condemnation, the Government of Myanmar and in particular its leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, are still standing by and allowing this humanitarian crisis to continue. Aung San Suu Kyi has received many awards for human...

Seanad: The Diaspora: Statements (14 Nov 2017)

Billy Lawless: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy CiarĂ¡n Cannon, to the Seanad and the opportunity to speak about the diaspora. We do not yet know whether there will be an electoral contest to decide who the next President will be, but it is certain that if an election were to be held, tens of thousands of Irish men and women would have no say in the outcome. Recent estimates suggest there are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Irish Aid Programme Review (Resumed) (19 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: Thank you very much. It was super presentation and it makes me proud to be Irish when I see the achievements of Irish Aid over the last number of years. Most of my questions have been covered by my colleagues. However, one issue that concerns me is my adopted country, the US. We see a complete change in direction from this administration, which is really frightening. I refer to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Irish Aid Programme Review (Resumed) (19 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I am delighted to meet Mr. Donoghue and to hear of his fantastic work over many years. Most of the questions have been asked already by my colleagues. History keeps repeating itself, and something that disturbs me at present is the terrible Rohingya refugee problem. It is ethnic cleansing and nothing less. What is the United Nations doing? What is happening there? Why are we not able to...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I extend my sincere sympathies to the families of the three people who were killed yesterday. Their deaths show the dangers of these types of storms, of which, as previous speakers noted, we will have many more as a result of climate change. I congratulate the Taoiseach and Ministers on their preparedness for yesterday and on the way in which they handled the situation. They were at the...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: Well done.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I apologise for going over time yesterday. I lost the run of myself at one stage but I will make up for it today.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: Last week the Rohingya community fleeing Myanmar was described to me as the worst man-made humanitarian crisis in decades. They have been called the world's most persecuted minority, an ethnic group, the majority of whom are Muslim and who have lived for centuries in the majority Buddhist Myanmar. An estimated 1.1. million Rohingya live in the south east Asian country. Today the United...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I express my deepest sympathy to the Cosgrave family on the death of their father, the former Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave. He did the State a great service in his time as Taoiseach at a very difficult time politically. At his funeral on Saturday he was described by Monsignor John Wilson as a man who had loved his family, faith and country, which was a fitting tribute to a man who had dedicated...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I am just finishing. I call on the Minister for Health to ask the HSE to enter into discussions with the Association of Optometrists Ireland as a matter of priority.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Irish Aid Programme Review (5 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I offer my sympathies to the Cosgrave family on the death of the former Taoiseach, Liam Cosgrave. He was a great statesman. I thank Mr. Burgess for a very comprehensive report. I am very proud that we play such a role in humanitarian aid and aid worldwide. We are an example to many other countries. Do we have a policy in regard to the recent hurricane and destruction in Puerto Rico?...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence Forces Strategy Statement 2017 to 2020: Department of Defence (5 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I thank the Secretary General for appearing before us today. The Chairman asked a couple of the questions I wanted to ask about the University of Limerick focus group report and whether any action is being taken regarding that report. Has the Minister met, as committed, the representative associations? Has the Department responded to requests from Defence Forces associations to review the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence Forces Strategy Statement 2017 to 2020: Department of Defence (5 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: Has the University of Limerick focus report been published?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Defence: Defence Forces Strategy Statement 2017 to 2020: Department of Defence (5 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: As the Chairman said, has action been taken in addressing the negative aspects of it?

Seanad: Direct Provision: Statements (4 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on direct provision. I welcome the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, to the Chamber. The Government and this House have a responsibility to listen to and legislate for a very important decision that has been delivered by the Supreme Court since this House last had a chance to speak on this matter. As Senators will be aware, the Supreme Court found...

Seanad: Direct Provision: Statements (4 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: The Supreme Court has not called for the floodgates to be opened on an unrestricted immigration regime in Ireland. It has said that the State has an obligation to vindicate the right of asylum seekers in Ireland to have a limited opportunity for employment, rather than spending their lives in the purgatory that is direct provision. While I applaud the Government for its willingness to put...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: I am absolutely horrified by what has happened in my adopted country in the past couple of days. It is absolutely incredible to think that so many people have died and been injured. As Senator Mark Daly said, it does not seem to matter how many massacres take place in the United States: they just cannot seem to get it. One would think the United States, being supposedly the most civilised...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2017)

Billy Lawless: -----to show that people with guns are not welcome on my premises. It is legal in Chicago to carry a concealed weapon, but I do not know whether or not people coming to my restaurant are carrying them. We all know what alcohol can sometimes do and that rows can develop. We see this everywhere. It is very easy just to pull out the gun. It is part of their nature now. However, imagine...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Diaspora Policy (26 Sep 2017)

Billy Lawless: I thank the Minister of State for taking this Commencement matter today. Before I begin, I would like to congratulate the staff of Leinster House and the OPW for their work in having this magnificent room ready for the new Seanad term. I got a shock when I walked in here. I thought I was in the US Senate for a moment when I looked up and saw the ceramics, and I thought I was looking at...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Diaspora Policy (26 Sep 2017)

Billy Lawless: Once one sees the resemblance, it is hard to escape. Over the last 20 years, Ireland went from being a country of emigration to one of immigration, "E" for emigration and "I" for coming back in, and then it went to emigration again. Now we are all delighted that, thanks to the improvements to our economy, Ireland is in a phase of return migration. This did not happen by accident. At the...

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