Clik here to view.
Magdalene Laundries Report
Members of this and the other House have raised issues concerning the recently issued report on the Magdalene laundries. I ask the Leader to try to obtain for me the answer to some very specific...
View ArticleClik here to view.
‘Emergency’ legislation & the liquidation of Anglo
All I can say at this hour of the morning is that I hope that poisoned chalice everybody refers to is full of Red Bull. Otherwise, we will have some difficulty getting through the next hour or so....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Ireland has the worst managed healthcare system in the developed world
While Ireland does not have the worst quality of healthcare, it is run by technically deficient, medically illiterate bureaucrats, says Professor John Crown. What healthcare model should we be looking...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It is time for change. Seanad reform would be a small first step.
When I ran for election in 2011 I stated that I would campaign for reform or abolition of the currently undemocratic Seanad. This week, I am honouring that commitment by introducing a Seanad reform...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The need for legal clarity regarding surrogacy
One of the saddest things I deal with in my day job other than the obvious health consequences of cancer in terms of mortality and morbidity is the possibility of premature infertility. I have seen...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seanad Electoral Reform Bill
I am not advancing this Bill because I wish to preserve the Seanad in the face of extinction by way of referendum; rather, I advance it because I wish to offer something better and something we have...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Oath of Allegiance to the Constitution
I have an unusual request for the Leader. I would like him to ask the Taoiseach if the Government would consider the wisdom of introducing an oath of allegiance to the Constitution for all Members of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Link to my Seanad Reform Bill
http://profjohncrown.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/seanad-electoral-reform-bill-2013.pdf Explanatory memorandum for Seanad Reform Bill
View ArticleClik here to view.
A thoroughly Irish coup
Not for the first time, an attempt is being made to overthrow and discard our constitutional system of republican government. A cabal of insurrectionists, sympathetic to the agents of a foreign state...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The need for thoughtfulness
We have a great need for thoughtfulness. Not the type of thoughtfulness that makes you remember your mother’s birthday. A more general form of thoughtfulness, a kind of thoughtfulness which we need to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Tobacco industry meeting with An Taoiseach and Ministers
Speaking during Seanad debate on Diesel Laundering I will probably be ruled out of order and asked to sit down because I will stray from the issue. The issue before us today relates to laundering and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Boycott of An Taoiseach by Boston Cathlolic Hierarchy
We will, in the coming weeks, be celebrating the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy’s visit to Ireland. Also coming up soon is the 53rd anniversary of the speech President Kennedy made to the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The need for a banking inquiry
I will preface my request for an amendment to the Order of Business that the Minister for Finance come to the House today and outline not only the timing but the terms of reference of the clearly...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seanad Abolition Referendum
Speaking in the Seanad on the Thirty-second Amendment of the Constitution (Abolition of Seanad Éireann) Bill 2013 I ran for the Seanad two years ago on the promise to my constituents that I would work...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Regulation of Lobbyists
Speaking in the Seanad on the Register of Lobbyists Legislation: motion (Link to text of motion:...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Slow progress of Department of Health’s handling of ‘Protection of Children’s...
Will the Leader use his good offices to ascertain from the Minister for Health the schedule for Committee Stage of our Bill to protect children from the harmful effects of cigarette smoking in cars?...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Availability of hospice beds and; lobbying by the tobacco industry
[Speaking during Seanad Order of Business] I associate myself with some of the comments of Senator Mullen, those which called for an increase in investment in hospice beds. Some of us have the sad duty...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Mammoth contribution to Committee Stage of the Seanad abolition bill
Speaking on the Seanad abolition Bill for almost 2 hours…… Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. There is something seriously wrong with our system of government. The evidence for this has been apparent...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Charity sector regulation; medical cards; smoking legislation; Oireachtas bar
I welcome the increased scrutiny of the charity sector. It is important, however, that in increasing the level of such scrutiny, we do not put additional bureaucratic hurdles in place. That is the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s power to the party as Kenny purges refuseniks
The sound of cracking whips is being heard in the committees, as two rebel TDs discovered. SOMETIMES actions really do speak louder than words and the action of our Taoiseach in removing Fine Gael...
View Article
