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| Speeches by Ciarán in Dáil Éireann
On the Adoption Agreement with Vietnam 07 May 2009 "I wish to underline the urgency and concerns of prospective adoptive parents in this matter and stress to my parliamentary colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Andrews, the importance of bringing these negotiations to a conclusion."
On Dáil Reform 17 June 2008 "I am glad to see the Green Party's commitment to an increase in Dáil sitting times come through the House today. The Dáil will sit for an extra week in July to discuss the results of the Lisbon referendum and the prevailing economic situation. That is movement in the right direction."
On the Patton Flyer Bus Service 5 June 2008 "I want to talk today about the Patton Flyer, which is the magic bus of the 21st century. The Minister may be old enough to remember the song of that name released by The Who back in 1968. It is an excellent bus service that carries passengers from Dalkey, Glasthule, Dún Laoghaire and Monkstown to and from Dublin Airport."
On the Dublin Transport Authority Bill 4 June 2008 "This Bill is a worthy step in the right direction. After 20 years of involvement with transportation issues in Dublin, I am glad to see legislation in this area which I think will bring coherence, and some clout in terms of enforcement, to the pressing issue of resolving transport problems in the greater Dublin area. We have had a series of constructive meetings with all sides on this issue, and the Bill has benefited from a few thoughts that we brought to the table."
On Zimbabwe 15 May 2008 "There is an urgent need for the Zimbabwean electoral commission to set a date for the presidential run-off vote. The role of the Southern African Development Community, SADC, is crucial to ensuring pressure is put on the Zimbabwean Government to hold the election within weeks rather than months. The last time we discussed Zimbabwe was six months ago. At that time I stated that inflation was 1,700% and unemployment was 80%. Within the past six months, inflation has risen to 150,000% and unemployment to 92%. Matters have become dramatically worse within the past six months and there are major concerns."
On the EU Reform Treaty 23 April 2008 "My party has held a strong and robust debate on the European treaty, which has divided us in some respects. Most are in favour of the treaty, but there is a substantial minority with significant concerns regarding various aspects of the document. I am in favour of the treaty. While it is not a perfect document, we are better served by critically engaging with the EU project from within by ratifying the treaty rather than by rejecting it and remaining outside the project."
On Banning Cluster Bombs 9 April 2008 "I thank Fine Gael for reading the programme for Government so carefully. There is a commitment to a complete ban on the use of cluster munitions in the programme and in the absence of a full ban we will seek agreement on an immediate freeze on the use of cluster munitions, pending the establishment of effective international instruments to address humanitarian concerns regarding their use. There is a clear commitment, with which we are proceeding."
On Immigration Residence and Protection Bill 14 February 2008 "I welcome this complex Bill of 142 pages and 139 sections. Many aspects are strongly needed while the details of other aspects are of concern and will need to be fleshed out on Committee Stage. I acknowledge the engagement of the Minister and his officials with us on the Bill and I applaud the dedication of the NGOs that have commented in detail on the Bill's content."
Statement on Transport 21 2007 14 November 2007 "I am not convinced that Transport 21 is a plan for the sustainable development of transport. The Green Party is concerned that placing 80% of the capital investment over the next several years in roads is not the right way to promote social cohesion, economic success or environmental sustainability"
On Civil Unions 2007 31 October 2007 "It can be difficult to enter into an unconventional relationship. When the Green Party was approached by Fianna Fáil six months ago, many believed the relationship would not last"
On the EU Reform Treaty 2007 16th October 2007 "Together with many members of the Green Party I consider myself to be a proud European and a proud Irish person. I am a friend of Europe and believe that Europe has been a friend to Ireland since we joined the European Economic Community in 1973"
Green Party Waste Motion 2006 21 June 2006 "Everybody wants to recycle, but they are currently not being given enough opportunity to do so, despite Government pronouncements. The recent Forfás waste management benchmarking report and the European Environment Agency's report, entitled The European environment — State and Outlook 2005, highlighted Ireland's growing waste generation levels."
Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Bill 2005 24 May 2006 "Should all the major projects be flicked through at the stroke of a pen? Perhaps we should take a bit of time to decide on some of these larger projects which will be in place for 100 or 200 years."
Dáil Adjournment Debate on the Sexual Trafficking of Women 10 May 2006 "Ireland has failed to transpose into law the 2002 EU Council framework decision on combating trafficking in human beings which obliged all member states to legislate to criminalise the trafficking of human beings for exploitation."
Statement regarding the 25 February 2006 Dublin Riot 2 March 2006 "The underbelly of the Celtic tiger was exposed last Saturday. I urge the Minister to address the exclusion, as well as the criminality, that gave rise to the violence."
Building Control Bill 2005 14 February 2006 "We need to build better buildings, instill public confidence in those who design our buildings and recognise the qualifications of such people. We should improve the quality of the buildings being built in Ireland, not only in terms of their energy performance and their accessibility but across the board"
Competition (Amendment) Bill 2005 2 February 2006 "If we engage in the race to the bottom proposed in this Bill, we will end up with a small number of large players in control of the retail market here. That is not good for communities, family businesses, towns or rural communities".
Private Members' Bill on Climate Change Targets Bill 2005 29 November 2005 "Politicians must take a long-term view. We must move away from taxing labour and enterprise towards examining environmental damage and taxing finite resources and poor planning."
Private Members Motion on G8 Summit 2005 29 June 2005 "The Taoiseach reiterated Ireland's absolute commitment to achieving by 2007 the UN target of spending 0.7% of GNP on overseas development assistance. That is what the Taoiseach said but it will not be delivered."
Ciaran's Speech to Convention in Cork 14 May 2005 "If we can combine the confidence of the Boston model with the social concern of Berlin we could build an amazing place for our children."
Tribunal of Inquiry into Certain Planning Matters 9 December 2004 "We need to establish a body to review development plans at a draft stage. With all due respect to the Minister, Deputy Roche, I do not think he is the appropriate person to review development plans to ensure that they comply with national strategies, such as the sustainable development strategy".
Planning and Development Bill (Amendment) Bill 2003 1 December 2004 "People are being fenced-in and prevented from exercising their ancient right to walk across lands".
Overseas Development Aid Budget 12 October 2004 "A plea for the new Junior Minister Conor Lenihan to keep the Government's promise to raise Overseas Development Aid to 0.7% of GDP by 2007."
Water Services Bill 2003 6 October 2004 "A conservation ethos of placing new emphasis on efficiency is necessary to save the Government and the taxpayer millions of euro."
Sustainable
Communities Bill 2004 6th
July 2004 local communities."
Housing Provisions: Motion 26 May 2004 "We want the Minister to ensure that 10,000 social housing units are built every year until the waiting lists are clear."
Broadcast
(Amendment) Bill 2003 10th December
2003
Constitutional Right to Housing 2003 11 November 2003 (Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution (No. 2) Bill) "It is high time that recognition was given to a right to housing within the Constitution".
Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2003 2nd July 2003 "A bill we described as anti-family, anti-tourism and anti-fun."
Planning
and Development (Amendment) Bill 2003
26th June 2003
Offences Against the State Act 2003 25th June 2003 The Green Party expresses concerns about the human rights implications of the Bill
Protection
of the Environment Bill 2003 29th May 2003
Licensing of Indoor Events Bill 21st May 2003 An act to license indoor events but that may result in an excess of bureaucracy that may pose difficulties for those holding small gigs and concerts.
This bill ensures that members of the Dáil cannot also be councillors but sadly it did not allow for directly elected Mayors.
National
Transport Authority Bill 2003 26th March 2003
Waste
Management (Amendment) Bill 2002
20th November 2002 Last updated 24 May 2006 |
