I welcome the Minister. I welcome the opportunity to participate in this Second Stage debate on the Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009.
When we discuss criminal justice legislation we must try to find a balance between the need to respond to the real problems of crime we confront every day but also the need to [...]

The Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill is the first of a number of legislative measures that will come before us in an attempt to rationalise and introduce greater efficiencies in the agencies and statutory bodies we have established over the years. It is interesting to hear the squeals of outrage already coming from the other side [...]

I welcome the Minister of State. I am thankful for the opportunity to engage in this debate on the Bill. We are all aware that public access to health services is becoming increasingly important. Some Senators referred to circumstances in the United States where 47 million people find themselves without health insurance. Health services and [...]

I will comment briefly on the budget, about which many Senators have spoken. We were all prepared for a budget that would not be easy. In difficult economic times hard choices have to be made. It will be helpful in the coming weeks and months, when various Ministers come before the House, to question them [...]

I look forward to the debate on the Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008 later this evening. As my colleague, Senator Ó Murchú, said yesterday, we have a choice in this regard. We have seen the political response to this issue in the United State in terms of the bail out proposed there. It would [...]

It is hard to concentrate on other issues given the turbulence in the international financial markets and the impact this is having on financial institutions, taxpayers and consumers in Ireland. I welcome the action of the Minister for Finance on protecting Irish banks because the interests of Irish taxpayers and consumers will as a result [...]

I would like to start by commenting on the vote last week of the Irish public in regard to the Lisbon treaty. This is the first opportunity the House has had to discuss the outcome of that vote. We are in a situation that we did not predict. There was a resounding ‘’No’’ vote to [...]

 
I agree with the points Senator Alex White raised. This morning’s bookies odd on a ‘No’ vote in the Lisbon treaty are worrying. The bookies have improved the odds of a ‘No’ vote.
 
Senator Jerry Buttimer
Is the Senator giving us a tip?
 
Senator Deirdre de Burca
Those of us who are concerned about the Lisbon treaty and who [...]

I wish to raise the issue of the fatalities which occurred on our roads during the bank holiday weekend. I begin by expressing my sympathy to the families of those who died on our roads.
It was disturbing to hear the chairman of the Road Safety Authority calling for two Departments to agree on the roll-out [...]

Like Senator Hannigan, I welcome the announcement that agreement was reached last night in Croke Park on the international treaty banning the use of cluster munitions or cluster bombs. The central role played by Ireland in organising this conference and in pushing forward the issue must be acknowledged, as must the role the United Kingdom [...]