Results 301-320 of 484 for speaker:Vincent P Martin

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: Yes and I have no doubt the Cathaoirleach correctly interpreted what he called a practice of the House. My problem is that in due course that practice should be appropriately reviewed. Yesterday, the Cathaoirleach said to a Member of the House, which celebrates freedom of speech, that we can praise the President all we wish but the practice of the House is not to criticise. I respect the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: I am not questioning that. I am saying to a grown up Seanad that if there is any long-looming shadow of the words of the former Minister, Paddy Donegan, in the 1970s it is time to put them to bed and have a mature debate. It is not comparing like with like. I say this as an admirer of the President. I would detract from my fundamental comments if I were to comment on the controversy. I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: Review, not change it.

Seanad: Interim Report of the Seanad Special Select Committee on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union: Motion (30 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: I will make two points and try not to repeat those already made. I commend our Chair who chaired the committee most ably, inclusively and professionally. This was not about party politics. I hope communities, especially in the North, realise that this was a most sincere, professional attempt on our behalf to try to move things forward. Unionists have genuine concerns. From my contacts...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Smuggling of Persons) Bill 2021: Second Stage (29 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: The timing of the Second Stage reading of this important legislation, which the Green Party is very pleased to support, is almost uncanny. Within the last 24 hours, as we probably all know, two women were jailed over human trafficking and organising prostitution. They became the first people convicted in Ireland of human trafficking for the prostitution ring they ran in the midlands. That...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: On this day 20 years ago, 51-year-old journalist, Martin O'Hagan, lost his life in the most brutal of circumstances. While walking home with his wife, he was shot twice in the back. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter". Among legislators, media participants, and laypeople, a silence pervades about this particular thing that...

Seanad: Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (28 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: The worrying allegations in recent weeks have proved upsetting for many. I reside in a county with a very proud Defence Forces record. The vast majority of members of the Defence Forces, who work so hard, are upset about the besmirching of and damage done to the good name of the Defence Forces and everything they stand for. The allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault and workplace...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament (22 Sep 2021)

Vincent P Martin: I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. Like other Members of the Upper House, I thank our guests for their generosity of time and making themselves available in what is an innovative exercise, which I believe will be here to stay. Do they believe the EU's voice is being heard and that it is doing sufficiently enough in the area of world peace? It was a triggering cornerstone for the very...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: South Africa is facing some of its greatest challenges since apartheid ended. Ireland has strong links with South Africa. It is great to see the South African cricketers playing in Ireland now. I wish the British and Irish Lions rugby team well during its trip to South Africa. It is the “British and Irish Lions” and not just the “British Lions”. This is an...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2021: Second and Subsequent Stages (16 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: Due to the fluid and ever-changing nature of the challenge, it is impossible to have a perfect response. I welcome constructive criticism. I welcome and will defend the right of people to offer constructive criticism but I would ask people to beware of populism. Populism concocts enemies, misrepresents social problems for its own benefit and proposes slogans as solutions. Its effect is to...

Seanad: Mandatory Hotel Quarantine Extension: Motion (16 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: This is a sweeping measure. It probably quite rightly belongs in the realm of draconian measures. In my humble opinion and following advice, however, it is absolutely necessary. I and the Green Party grouping in Seanad Éireann will, therefore, support this in the interests of safety for all. As the Minister said previously, no Minister enjoys or relishes introducing such measures but...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: The Bill, when enacted, will not just be part of the jigsaw, but a monumental part and a step in the right direction to tackle possibly the greatest challenge facing our country right now. Notwithstanding that and notwithstanding that I am Senator from a Government party, there is a tradition in this House, when we have constructive criticism to make of a legislative provision, to ventilate...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: The decision to retain the 9% VAT rate will be most welcome among stakeholders and is a sign the Government is listening. I concur with the remarks of Senator Kyne that it will be a lifeline for them. While there may be grounds to extend it further, at least this extension gives sufficient space to have that discussion at a later date. It is a positive and essential move for a sector that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: I read with some concern and alarm a report in yesterday's edition of The Irish Timesthat the Government intends to change the current judicial review court system in respect of planning applications. The speculation is - and I believe this idea was concocted before the formation of the current Government - that the intention is to deter people from objecting in planning related matters by...

Seanad: Private Security Services (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (6 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: At the heart of our considerations as legislators dealing with this issue, we must be mindful of the Constitution, or Bunreacht na hÉireann, a written document in which certain fundamental rights are set out in black and white. A number of those rights relate to the home. The dwelling is inviolable. Superior courts, again and again in their rulings and in their jurisprudence, have...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: Single elections naturally attract significant and prominent media attention and we only have to reflect on previous presidential elections in this country. These, however, went beyond the point of proper examination and scrutiny and turned out to be unnecessarily bruising affairs. One would only have to ask the father of this House, Senator Norris, for his personal experience. These...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: -----as has each and every one of them. I sense the camaraderie when one canvasses. We are all in politics together and there has been a mutual respect among everyone. They know that it is a tough business.I am glad it has not been a bruising business on this occasion. The European Commission has stated that there has been an alarming decline in pollinator species with 10% of bee and...

Seanad: Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Bill 2021: Second Stage (5 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: On behalf of the Green Party I welcome this legislative initiative. It is meaningful and it matters. It is because Irish people, including the Irish sporting and music-following public really care. They are seeking a step towards fairness. Like other speakers, I welcome all those who had anything to do with this, including the current Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the...

Seanad: Sale of Tickets (Cultural, Entertainment, Recreational and Sporting Events) Bill 2021: Second Stage (5 Jul 2021)

Vincent P Martin: It is something for when we are next talking about sporting events, as we must not undermine their integrity. It is something in respect of which I will liaise directly with the appropriate Department. For today I am keen to say, like everyone else, that it is great to have unanimity in the House. It is a good day for legislators and a good day for consumers.Regardless of whether we are...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Policy (28 Jun 2021)

Vincent P Martin: I welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. Ireland is the last stronghold in the world of the native black honey bee, which as Senator McGreehan says, comes from northern Europe. This bee is under major threat. Beekeepers are not going to stand idly by. They are in negotiations with the Department for the past 50 years. Luckily, we now have a Minister who understands and is...