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 [...]

 I welcome the Minister to the House. I am very happy to second the motion. I would like to address particularly the issue of microfinancing across Europe and the need to promote a much greater availability of these services to address the growing levels of unemployment due to the economic crisis in the EU and [...]

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House. I also welcome the opportunity to discuss this final proposal of the European Parliament and Council on the provision of food information to consumers. Food is becoming an increasingly political issue. As elected representatives, we are all aware of the kind of issues with [...]

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sargent, to the House. I welcome also this timely debate on gun crime. There is much public anxiety and a genuine sense of insecurity about the current level of gun crime. The public is looking for a strong and adequate response. There is no scope for the legal [...]

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I also welcome the opportunity to discuss the report of the Sub-Committee on Ireland’s Future in the European Union. As a member of that sub-committee, I am delighted that both Houses of the Oireachtas are debating this excellent report. It is excellent because in the [...]

I welcome the Minister to the House and the opportunity to make statements on FÁS. To put my statement in context, FÁS is an extremely important agency in this State and, given the economic downturn, its role will be all the more important for this State. It is our national training and employment authority. It [...]

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion on tourism. We should note the impressive figures for the number of overseas visitors to this country. The number exceeded 8 million for the first time in 2007, an increase of more than 33% since 2001. That is a most impressive statistic and the Government and [...]

I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank her for her statement. I welcome the opportunity to make a statement on the nursing home support scheme and the standards for residential care settings for older people.

There is much concern about the issue of care for the elderly. Many of our population are [...]

As the second speaker for the Green Party, I second the motion before the House. It is timely for us to debate such a motion, which calls on Seanad Éireann to recognise the importance of the development of green technology for economic growth. Given the current economic conditions we are experiencing, our case is all [...]

Senator Déirdre de Búrca:   I welcome the Minister and the opportunity to discuss health promotion priorities. Health promotion is a central interest of the Minister’s portfolio. What is most important in setting priorities in this area is the basic model of health care that underpins our health care system. Obviously, health promotion is about prevention and [...]