Senator David Norris Revealed: the 10 TDs with the perfect Dáil attendance record David Norris Dáil logs show TDs and Senators with the best and worst attendance records SENATE/SEANAD 2017 Two Senators attended all 51 sittings of the Seanad so far this year, David Norris (Ind) and Denis Landy (Lab), UNIVERSITY OF DUBLIN according to Oireachtas records. Irish Times (September 19th, 2017) Opening the Road to Equality Exhibition in Wexford Library. Dear Friends, I am writing to you to update you on my activities since poverty, deficiencies in our health system, migrants Joyceans celebrate Anthony Cronin’s last year’s Senate election. I am genuinely honoured to in direct provision, repeal of the 8th amendment and have been re-elected to represent my Alma Mater Trinity atrocities and discrimination in many parts of the legacy College. In fact in August of this year I celebrated with world but most particularly in the Middle East. It is Liam Collins some of my fellow graduates the 50th anniversary of our my intention to continue to bring these issues to the graduation. I have always been proud of our college and attention of Government and to create awareness. have been very happy to represent it here in the Senate. If we do not who will be their conscience? literary and life work of the poet and writer Anthony Cronin, I will continue to work hard on behalf of the graduates Lastwho Fridaydied two night days was after a fitting last Christmas. occasion to It commemoratewas he, along with the and hope that I have your support in continuing to do so. John Ryan, Brian O’Nolan, Patrick Kavanagh and Tom Joyce, As you know there are many issues confronting Irish who invented what has now become Bloomsday, when they society today and of course in the world i.e homelessness, drove out from Davy Byrne’s pub to the Tower in Sandycove by hackney cab on that day in June, 1954 following in the David awarded the Lilla Watson Global Leadership Award footsteps of James Joyce’s characters. National Housing Co-operative Bill 2017 presented by the Harvey Milk Foundation. This is an extremely important to pay tax. They got away with But, as David Norris told those who assembled under the Bill and I am relieved that it €77 million in profits and they grand Rotunda of City Hall in Dublin last Friday night, has been allowed in the Seanad did not pay a single red cent to many in Edwardian attire to commemorate the day, because there were questions the Irish taxpayer under their Cronin later became wary of the occasion, describing about whether it would create deeds. it as “five men pissing on each other on Sandymount a charge on the Exchequer. Strand”. This Bill proposes to create Neither I nor Right 2 Homes a new agency, a national The writer Dermot Bolger, who published much of Cronin’s and the others involved claim housing Co-operative, which poetry, described him as “a lone dissenting voice when I that this Bill is perfect. It is the will move in when groups like start of a debate. Allied Irish Banks unload their meeting him in 1975. “Anthony Cronin: A Celebration” was This issue is a disaster facing enormous number of shares, wasorganised growing by up”the andJames spoke Joyce of hisCentre “sense and of saw wonder” a succession on first this country. The authorities creating a possible avalanche of writers and friends share their memories and read from cannot deal with 7,000 people of homelessness. The housing his work. being homeless. In terms of people’s right to a home, Co-operative will take over the distressed mortgages the number of accounts is 60,000, the number of people at the current level of value. It will then rent them back Trinity Gets Its First Taoiseach. directly affected is about 250,000, and the total debt or remortgage them to the original owners in order outstanding is €14 billion. that they can stay in their houses. That is a really good Have people forgotten that eviction is a dirty word in response. The capital required would be secured by a 20- this country? I find it astonishing that an Irish Republic year bond secured against the properties and we believe should stand over eviction, and not only that but that it that we would have the backing of major international should invite the vulture funds into this country to buy financial institutions to do so. This is because long- up the slack and make a profit out of it. We are dealing term 20-year loans are at a uniquely low level and the with human misery. When the vulture funds move into financial institutions are looking for something good that this country, take over the distressed mortgages and evict is guaranteed to take up. It is for that reason that this Bill people, guess what the cherry on the pie is. The Irish creates no charge on the Exchequer. taxpayer will be presented with the bill for the evictions. In Dublin this year, over 70 families a month lost their To think that the Government gave them charitable status, homes. Let us just think about that. That means 70 what in the name of Christ is charitable about the vulture ordinary families losing their homes. This cannot be funds? They were given that status so they do not have allowed to continue! The launch of the National Housing Co-operative Bill on plinth of Launching the Irish Penal Reform Trust’s Report 2016. Leinster House, June 2017. Senator David Norris Seanad Eireann, Dublin 2, Telephone number 01 618 3104, Fax number 01 618 4155, [email protected] 0612 Senator David Norris Senator David Norris Property Tax Recognition of Irish Sign Language for the We pay for the collection of bins through the bin tax, we pay for water through water rates, we pay for roads through Deaf Community Bill 2016. road tax, but for what is the revenue from property tax used? The introduction of this bill shows the importance of the I think it is used to pay off the gambling debts of the German Seanad as an instrument for social change, something which is and French banks. We now have a situation where, as we not often recognised. During my contribution to the bill I paid heard recently, 86,000 people had money taken from their tribute to the Centre for Deaf Studies in Trinity which I visited pension payments and other sources of income without prior to the debate on the bill. During my visit to the Centre their consent to pay the property tax. Some 3,000 people I learnt a great deal from the stories of deaf people. I could were sent to the Sheriff to have their goods distrained. That not believe that until recently sign language was more or less is appalling. outlawed in educational institutions. Children had their hands This takes us back to the 19th century to rack-renting tied behind their backs. where if a peasant dared to improve his or her holding, the This is a frightful violation of the human rights of deaf people. landlord shoved up the rent, which meant that he or she There are over 5,000 deaf people and 40,000 additional people was punished. What is now being done is exactly the same. who are members of families, friends or relatives in this country and this bill is very important for their future. David Norris At Home. Seanad Reform Help Save the Long Room TCD - (https://www.tcd.ie/library/ preservation/preservation-projects/save-treasures.php) A bill on Seanad Reform introduced by some of my colleagues i.e. Michael McDowell, Alice Mary Higgins, Lynn Ruane etc. contains some good measures but it was concocted by a group of Micro-plastic and Micro-beads Heritage Bill 2016 lawyers who did not have the future of the Trinity The real problem that concerns me is the fact that the Pollution Bill 2016 Bill will give the Minister the power to make regulations seats in mind. According to the bill the extinction To be honest I had only recently heard about of the Trinity seats would take place. It would also Micro-beads. I had no idea that there were tiny open up the election up to and perhaps over 1 pieces of plastic used in everyday cleansing toand, permit in addition, the burning to allow of vegetation landowners during or their a specified agents million voters. agents and so on. The beads are small and visually timeto cut, or grubtimes orin destroyMarch in vegetation specified areasin any of hedgethe State or As somebody who has been in the Senate for unobtrusive but subtly dangerous. Companies over 30 years, I can say this will lay it open to ditch during August. These are very serious matters. introduced them in their products without any Every survey has shown that more intensive hedgerow concern for the downstream effects. They are must not be allowed to happen. I will continue cutting leads to a catastrophic decline of up to 75% in now waking up to the problem and it is welcome species of berry and so on and also in bird life. beingto defend infiltrated our constituency by the political which parties. has served This that a number of them have acknowledged the TCD Scholars. this country without a single break since the danger. Colgate Palmolive phased Micro-beads beginning of the 17th century. It is the oldest and out in 2014, while Unilever phased them out in The closed dates for burning and cutting are based, in a most distinguished constituency in this country.