Results 1-20 of 82 for going forward speaker:Mick Barry

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Apr 2024)

Mick Barry: ...that will be the last protest of its kind. A campaign is now under way and it can grow. The Taoiseach needs to familiarise himself with the issues here. This is a big issue in the second largest city in the State. It is not going away. The Taoiseach needs to be able to answer the question about a timetable for getting it sorted and providing the funds to do so. He also needs to be...

Supporting People with Disabilities and Carers: Motion [Private Members] (5 Mar 2024)

Mick Barry: ...silent on the question of State support for care outside of it. However, in the course of this referendum, something has changed and I think what has changed is very significant. Angered by the Government’s failure to go beyond “strive” and to make mention of support outside of the family, opposition to the amendment began to develop among people with disabilities...

Conflict in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory: Motion (23 Jan 2024)

Mick Barry: The Tánaiste is saying there would be no sense in boycotting the St. Patrick's Day trip. Let us have a quick look at this argument. The first argument put forward by the Tánaiste relates to why should we boycott when it is clear the US is trying to end the conflict. Clear to whom? Biden has pledged $14.3 billion in military aid to Israel. As of Christmas Day, Israel had...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Jan 2024)

Mick Barry: ..., we continued with extreme restrictions on older people. Care Champions are calling for a human rights expert to be on the panel that looks at what happened in our nursing homes and how we go forward from here. Will the Taoiseach agree to this request?

Investment Funds Trading in the Residential Property Market: Motion [Private Members] (17 Jan 2024)

Mick Barry: What is the way forward for Irish society? Is it housing for people or housing for profit? The Government's answer is clear. It is for housing for profit. If you want to see what that has led to, all you have to do is go to Belcamp Manor in Balgriffin in Dublin, where a vulture fund has snapped up 46 of the 54 new builds in that estate. The vulture fund is the DWS Group, an €800...

An Bille um an Naoú Leasú is Tríocha ar an mBunreacht (An Teaghlach), 2023: Céim an Choiste agus na Céimeanna a bheidh Fágtha - Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (The Family) Bill 2023: Committee and Remaining Stages (17 Jan 2024)

Mick Barry: Clearly, there are provisions in this amendment that represent a step forward on the current position. There is a move away from the very rigid view of what constitutes a family that is embedded in the 1937 Constitution and that very directly reflects Catholic Church teaching, and that is the way it should be. It allows for the potential – only the potential but potential nonetheless...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (12 Dec 2023)

Mick Barry: The Taoiseach described the draft text put forward by the COP presidency as disappointing. I would describe it as disgraceful. There is no clear commitment to phasing out fossil fuels, correctly described as a death cert for small island states. It is clear the Minister, Deputy Ryan, will not sign that text but the concern is there will be a splitting of the difference. I would be opposed...

Palestine: Motion [Private Members] (22 Nov 2023)

Mick Barry: I wish to start by making some comments about the so-called humanitarian pause. Before going into the Israeli cabinet meeting last night, Benjamin Netanyahu said: We are at war, and we will continue the war. We will continue until we achieve all our goals. It is clear that in the minds of Netanyahu and the Israeli cabinet, this is a short-term pause and when it is over, the killing...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Workplace Discrimination (7 Nov 2023)

Mick Barry: I, too, fear this is not an isolated case. I have to wonder, if allegations such as this can be brought forward by more than a score of nurses in a public sector workplace, which is a unionised workplace, what is going on in some private sector workplaces with vulnerable workers who do not have trade union protection and who are in fact employed in places that are not just non-union but...

Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Human Trafficking) Bill 2023: Second Stage (4 Oct 2023)

Mick Barry: ...for I Believe Her in the aftermath of the Belfast rape trial. Insofar as this legislation is a reflection of the aspirations and the demands of those movements, it is positive and represents a step forward. However, it is a mild reflection of the aspirations and demands of those movements, it does not go far enough and the process of putting the changes before the Dáil has been very...

Affordable Housing: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (21 Sep 2023)

Mick Barry: ...'s House in Dean Street on Cork's south side, beside St. Fin Barre's Cathedral. Ironically, the evictions take place right next door to the constituency of Cork South-Central, which hosts three Government Ministers who voted to lift the eviction ban. The Ministers, Deputies Micheál Martin, Coveney and Michael McGrath, might be interested to learn that, in the wake of their decision...

Mortgage Interest Relief: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (20 Sep 2023)

Mick Barry: There have been ten ECB interest hikes. It has gone from 0% to 4.5%. Before this latest increase, some 20% of mortgage holders are estimated to lose €3,000 this year. A further 20% are estimated to lose €5,700 a year. Mortgage holders are being put on a rack and stretched. At the same time the banks make combined profits of more than €5 billion. This Government has...

Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2023)

Mick Barry: ...of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2023, the Second Stage of which was taken on 31 May. The latter Bill would allow access for people who struggle to get access at the moment. Safe access and access go together. The Bill before the House should not be seen as a stand-alone measure. I will be backing it, but the other legislation to which I refer must go through quickly as well. Since...

Rent Reduction Bill 2023: Second Stage [Private Members] (26 Apr 2023)

Mick Barry: ...When rent is included, 50% of single parents and their households are at risk of poverty. Skyrocketing rents are causing young people to stay at home with their parents for far longer than most would wish. Ten years ago, the average age for leaving home was 19 whereas today it is 28, and people are being forced to stay at home with their parents into their 30s. That has to cramp the...

Ministerial Rota for Parliamentary Questions: Motion: Cabinet Committees (29 Mar 2023)

Mick Barry: The eviction ban will be lifted at the weekend. Where will people go? Let us break it down. Some people will find alternative rental accommodation; they will be a small minority. Others will crash with family, in the hope it will only be for a couple of weeks rather than stretching out into months. Other people will beg for a place to stay with friends. Some will go to homeless...

Eviction Ban Bill 2022: Second Stage [Private Members] (22 Feb 2023)

Mick Barry: ..., the number living in emergency accommodation was 8,060. In other words, the numbers living in emergency accommodation were still high but they had been reduced by nearly 2,000 people. I would go so far as to say it was probably the most successful housing policy introduced by any Government in this State since this housing crisis began. It was forced upon the Government by a public...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Mick Barry: ...Minister. He gave us examples of people on €49,000 a year or less and €75,000 a year. Even with the extreme example he gave of a €26,000 bonus for a person on €75,000, 99.95% of the people in the categories mentioned would be covered in a scenario such as that which I have explained. As for the issue of variable pay, I am open to a discussion about it but...

Finance Bill 2022: Report Stage (23 Nov 2022)

Mick Barry: The inclusion of tax credits for renters in the budget was hailed by the Government and sections of the media as a big step forward for renters. At the same time as this tax credit is being introduced, though, is there any move being made to further curb rents? Is there going to be a rent freeze? No, there is not. It will not happen in every circumstance, but in a large number of cases,...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Finance Bill 2022: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Nov 2022)

Mick Barry: ...in the pockets of the landlords. If the landlord believes the tenant has more money as a result of the budget, he or she may choose to hike the rent and he or she will be able to do so because the Government has failed to put in place a rent freeze. The Minister has set out the countervailing argument in an attempt to tip the balance but it is not strong. He is ostensibly saying that...

Water Services (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2022: Second Stage (15 Sep 2022)

Mick Barry: Six years ago, Deputy Joan Collins put forward the water in public ownership Bill, which calls for a referendum to ensure that water services remain in public ownership. Yesterday, the Taoiseach was asked when this referendum would be held and when a date for it would be announced. He replied that the Minister " is working on it" and that "We will get a timeline when we are ready for it."...