Results 181-200 of 278 for going forward speaker:Seán Fleming

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Report on Perinatal Deaths at Midland Regional Hospital: Discussion (6 Mar 2014)

Seán Fleming: ...to discuss this issue. I thank the Minister for his input. He is dealing with the issue in an upfront and proper manner. I have never spoken to Dr. Tony Holohan, but I admire his report. It is good to see a professional public servant giving a hard hitting report. Let it offend those whom it has offended because that is how it has to be. It is a template for how issues in the public...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (27 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I can consult the Bills Office but the essence of what I am trying to achieve could not be simpler. I would have thought the Minister would be the one offering to come forward with the clear wording on Report Stage given that he was not happy with the wording of my amendment. The essence of what I am saying is that if millions of euro of taxpayers' money is going to political parties and...

Priority Questions: Sick Pay Scheme Reform (26 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I believe the Minister would have answered the Priority Question I tabled had his officials let him. I am asking him to go back to his Department and tell it to stop blocking him as Minister from answering questions and me as an Opposition spokesperson from tabling them. We had this last year. I tabled a question to the Minister asking him about the implications for State agencies that...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Finance Act 2004 (Section 91) (Deferred Surrender to the Central Fund) Order 2014: Motion (12 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: Yes. The detailed question is on the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. More than half of the carry-forward of €132, some €72 million, comes from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government. I think my figures are correct. The appropriation account for 2012 was a total of €107 million and again, more than €43...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Finance Act 2004 (Section 91) (Deferred Surrender to the Central Fund) Order 2014: Motion (12 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I thank the Minister of State. I always say at this stage that everybody supports the principle behind the motion. I agree that this motion is a good idea because it provides that funds available for a variety, and in some cases, good reasons that were not spent in 2013 can be carried over into 2014 for expenditure. Rather than make a speech I shall ask some questions in response to the...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Finance Act 2004 (Section 91) (Deferred Surrender to the Central Fund) Order 2014: Motion (12 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: I shall go with that figure. The sum of €34 million was not carried forward. I do not dispute the figure but it is somewhere in that ballpark. That sum has been surrendered and returned to the Department of Finance.

Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Second Stage (4 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: ...or her activities in the immediately preceding year". While this also is fine, I believe this report should be published. It should be anonymised or whatever phrase people wish to use. I would go as far as to state it is unfair to the Taoiseach if such things are going on, it all lands on his or her desk and he or she is unable to tell anyone about it. It would not be good for the...

Protected Disclosures Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Second Stage (4 Feb 2014)

Seán Fleming: ...the omission. I am sure the Department of Justice and Equality deliberately intended that they would not be included. The legislation would be better if serving gardaí were happy with what was put forward in the regulations. We are back to a hardy annual that has arisen with every item of legislation we have had to date. We would like to see a draft of the regulations published...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Second Stage (23 Jan 2014)

Seán Fleming: ...issue. Will the Minister tell us about the commencement date? What happens on the death of a Member? Is the allowance reduced for the political party until the seat is filled? Does the balance go to the other parties until it is filled? I have raised a number of practical issues. I support the Bill in principle and I support most of its provisions but improvements could be made. I...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Second Stage (23 Jan 2014)

Seán Fleming: ..., but we must lead by example. The Bill also provides for the auditing of the parliamentary leader's allowance for Independent Deputies and Senators. The issue of this allowance came to light some time ago when the Committee of Public Accounts was examining allowances across the public service, and of course it looked at the Oireachtas. It was never a secret that these allowances were...

Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (12 Dec 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...more from the Department of Social Protection during a person's illness than it actually was paying out to the person on sick pay. I believe the Minister can understand this proposal. The Minister might be able to put forward a formula in this regard because I do not believe for a second it is his intention that his Department should make a profit on someone being out sick through...

Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointment) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (12 Dec 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...with those cases. Where I believe this measure discriminates against women is at the jump from full pay after three months to half pay. The Minister has a mechanism in place for people who are going onto the rehabilitative arrangement whereby their payment does not go lower than the social welfare rate at that point. That is not the point at issue. I am also not referring to the...

Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Instruction to Committee (12 Dec 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...2014.....". In counting backwards retrospective effect is being given to this measure. The original proposal was more reasonable. I was prepared to support the Minister in that regard. Fianna Fáil also put forward proposals in regard to these issues in its budget submission last year. I ask that the Minister wait until after the Labour Court has issued its ruling to deal with...

Electricity Infrastructure: Motion [Private Members] (3 Dec 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...capability be modernised, as well as expanded, to allow for a clean, sustainable and affordable supply to the public and to support all future economic and societal development." My party's motion goes on to call, "for an independent international assessment of the EirGrid proposals to take place, so that the health and visual concerns held by the public are fully addressed, the cost and...

Appointment of Ombudsman and Information Commissioner: Motions (5 Nov 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...of political parties and candidates. It was intended that the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner would merge with the Information Commissioner. However, this was deferred some time ago due to external factors. Will the Minister inform us if it is still off the agenda? The role of the Data Protection Commissioner is increasing. Only today, I heard him again on the radio on his...

Financial Resolutions 2014 - Budget Statement 2014 (15 Oct 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...be given a GP card instead of retaining the full medical card. That will save the Department of Health and the HSE €11 million. Cutting medical cards for people who should be incentivised to go back to work is counterproductive and is a move in the opposite direction from what the Minister for Finance said about encouraging people back to work. People do not want to lose the...

Discretionary Medical Cards: Motion [Private Members] (8 Oct 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...no change in policy but the practice has been changed. I believe there has been a change in policy but it has probably not been written down. It boils down to the fundamental issue that this Government is focused on cutting expenditure on the most vulnerable people in Irish society. The majority party in this Government has decided, as a matter of policy, that it will not ask those who...

Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (2 Oct 2013)

Seán Fleming: I move amendment No. 3: In page 7, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following:“(5) The Minister shall, within 6 months of the enactment of this Act, bring forward a report on the feasibility of the Public Appointments Commission establishing a process whereby employees who wish to voluntarily transfer to a new role within the public service may be matched up with another employee...

Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 201: Report and Final Stages (3 Jul 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...by law that they should be paid, the Oireachtas can equally decide by law to remove them from the arrangement they are in and make them voted expenditure. We will return to this issue. Thank God for Europe and the six pack because they are forcing us to do something which is right. It is an indictment of the Oireachtas and all of us that if we were left to our own devices, we would...

Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 201: Report and Final Stages (3 Jul 2013)

Seán Fleming: ...be possible to have it here. In respect of payments to the ESM, I know there are very large amounts of money but I suspect that very few members of the public are aware that those payments are going through because they are not being discussed here. There is no reason that items like the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and election posting cannot be included in the Estimates and if,...