Results 21,441-21,460 of 24,351 for speaker:Jerry Buttimer

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It was a handbrake turn. There was a real spin on it.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Bring back Bertie. Is that it?

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Ring the bell again, Cathaoirleach. We have moved into fairyland.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It is taxing the people more.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It shows the poverty of its ambition.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I look forward to the Senator's vote at the next election.

Seanad: National Drugs Strategy (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, to the House. I am pleased he is present for the debate as he is a former Minister of State with responsibility for this area. I raise this matter because the use of heroin and other drugs is on the increase. The Minister of State, Deputy Curran, is on record as saying that this week in the other House. I am concerned that a reduction in...

Seanad: National Drugs Strategy (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Will the Minister of State raise with his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy John Curran, the fact that there seems to be a trend running through Government policy on social inclusion. We have seen the amalgamation of community development projects and the closure of some, which is wrong. I am genuinely worried. The Minister of State referred to the programme in Ballyfermot, "Can You...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I welcome the Minister of State. Inchydoney is dead, long live Inchydoney. The cosy cartel on the beach is no more. Public sector workers have no friends in Government Buildings, especially public sector workers who earn less than €30,000 per year. There is an acceptance by all Members that there must be a rebalancing and that we need to correct fiscal policy to get out of this crisis....

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Let us have a new pillar in social partnership. To quote the cliche, we have lost a generational opportunity for reform of the public sector. Senators Butler, Regan and I served on local authorities where there was roll-out of local government reform. What did it mean? We created no new posts only new directors in various positions. In certain places one goes beyond the switchboard which...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It is wrong. It should not be that way. We must tackle our competitiveness. Our exports have decreased for the past six years. We have become a service based, construction based economy. I am pleased the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, has returned. There is nothing whatever in this budget for jobs. We have put forward an alternative which is painful for some people. There is a...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It is aspirational.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It is called a lack of appreciation, a lack of understanding and no protection of the vulnerable, the blind and the handicapped. The Government then takes the poorest paid worker and stands on him and allows its friends at the tent in Galway to go scot free.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: The Government allowed them to go scot free. All the Government wants is to get on the horse and ride off with him.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: This budget is a penal tax on the ordinary decent person. I challenge any of us to live on €196 per week.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It is fine for those in Government who have a State car, a driver or two and a group of advisers. They are living detached from reality. Would we live on €196 a week? This budget is an attack on the decent people. It should be thrown out. The measure before us is an unfair penalty on people who deserve better from their leaders.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I join other speakers in demanding that the Minister for Transport come before the House. To clarify the matter for Senator Ormonde, the Minister has made a statement. His decision to defer the opening of the stretch of road in question must be addressed because it constitutes naked political interference in the work of the National Roads Authority. As Senator Cummins said, when one seeks...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Senator Boyle is right, it is inept and it should not happen. A €300 million road is stopped because the friends of Fianna Fáil came running and asked for help.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I sympathise with the traders because the policies of Fianna Fáil brought them into the mess they are in. The Government should not ask the Irish people to bail out the friends of Fianna Fáil because this is the recurring nightmare. Fianna Fáil bails out its friends again.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Dec 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: It is not nasty at all. The facts are before us and Government Members are embarrassed. They are running for cover the whole time.