Results 341-360 of 2,725 for speaker:Noel Coonan

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: Do people not co-habitate in the midlands?

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: They are blamed for all road accidents.

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: They all wanted to put them out of business.

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: I was nominated by my party on the cultural and educational panel.

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: There was a promise to reduce waiting lists.

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: I support the call by Senator Finucane for a debate on energy and ESB charges. I am not sure whether the Government will take seriously a report which cost €1.2 million when one considers that the Minister said that €143 million is not a significant figure. One wonders how he would regard a figure of €1.2 million. He would probably consider it to be small change which is not worth...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: I wonder who would be the belle of the ball.

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: Senator Bannon will want to find out.

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: Then she praised Gerry Adams.

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: Shoot the messenger.

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: I welcome the Minister and her officials to the House. I feel sorry for the Minister this evening because her colleagues on the opposite side of the House have not done her any service by introducing this motion at this particular time. The tone, the tenor and the timing seem to be ——

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: I did not interrupt the Senator when he spoke and I would appreciate if he would show me the same courtesy. The timing of the motion is questionable, given that farming has gone through a very critical phase and is now trying to come out of that. We should all be positive in that regard, in trying to help the farming community, rather than indulging in craw thumping, breast beating and...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: I will do so now. I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Seanad Éireann" and substitute the following: —condemns the Government for its failure to address the crisis in Irish farming: —notes the damaging role played by the Government and the Minister for Agriculture and Food in the demise of the Irish sugar beet industry; the willingness by the Minister for Agriculture and...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: The committee made 53 recommendations, covering all aspects of the agrifood industry. It reiterated the point that Ireland is in a weak competitive position when full economic costs are considered and the rate of productivity growth in agriculture is low in comparison with other EU countries. That is a reflection on the performance of the Government. The Agri-Vision report took only ten...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: While the Minister was compiling her plan, what was happening in agriculture? The Minister launched a glossy plan with three lovely glossy pictures of three lovely Ministers ——

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: It seems to be a matter of self-promotion, but what was happening while all of that was going on in that 16-month period? I will tell the Minister what was happening. The sugar industry was wiped out, we had the debacle of the nitrates directive and the closure of Teagasc stations. We have heard much about research and development but research stations and Teagasc offices were closed across...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: The Minister is responsible for the closure of the sugar factory. She put ——

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: The facts are there to see. The sugar factory has closed. The closure of the Carlow plant directly led to the demise of the Mallow plant. During the closure of the Carlow factory, the Minister for Agriculture and Food claimed it would not affect its Mallow counterpart. How wrong she was. Where is the Mallow sugar plant now? Is that what we call commitment and leadership? The €145 million...

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: She can refute it later. She fought the battle and lost.

Seanad: Agrifood Sector: Motion. (29 Mar 2006)

Noel Coonan: Due to the nitrates directive, many pig and poultry producers will follow the fate of sugar beet producers. They require large investments in their businesses to implement the directive's conditions. During that debate the Minister went to ground, forgetting about her flock, the farming community. She left it in the hands of the abrasive Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local...