Results 361-380 of 23,068 for speaker:Paddy Burke

Seanad: Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (31 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. I received my vaccination at the Breaffy House complex. It was a massive success and worked like clockwork. The staff were brilliant, there were no problems, no time waiting and it was a great success all round. In 1928, Michael Collins's sister, Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll, had to speak against her own party in support of vaccination against smallpox,...

Seanad: Loan Guarantee Schemes Agreements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: Like previous speakers, I would prefer if we had much more time to go into much more detail on the Bill but the main focus is to get it enacted in order that businesses can access much-needed finance. In many cases, businesses are dying because they cannot get access to funds, and it is critical that they get that finance. We had a good debate on Second Stage of the Bill. In regard to...

Seanad: Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. He has had a difficult time in his first year as Minister for Health and I congratulate him on the great work he is doing under difficult circumstances. Many people have had a tough time. We in the public service, including the Civil Service, have been well looked after and all of us on the public purse have much to be thankful for, but many small...

Seanad: Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: The conclusion the Government has come to is that there is no danger in people being outdoors. That is an aspect to be considered. I support what Senator Kyne said. We met pilots and people from the travel industry today. They are going through a very difficult period. On one hand that is an issue but, on the other hand, our tourism industry could suffer greatly. As has been said on...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the House again. He is in regular attendance in this House. I would like to concentrate my remarks on section 30, which is an important section in that it deals with the transfer of powers. I do not agree with the Department's view that councillors cannot comment on planning applications. Councillors spend a lot of time developing and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I support the call made by Senator McDowell and others for a debate on cybersecurity and energy security. The security breaches of the last few days are not the first such breaches. A number of local authorities have been hacked in the past year and a half. I fully support the call for a debate. The Passport Office provides a great service. Its online service is very efficient and has...

Seanad: Loan Guarantee Schemes Agreements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Second Stage (17 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this important legislation. The lack of sufficient finance is the biggest obstacle to businesses. I have seen many businesses fail due to a lack of finance or not being able to secure finance. In some cases, businesses do not have enough finance. In others, they are not able to get it and they fail....

Seanad: Future of Banking in Ireland: Statements (10 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister. I wish the Minister well in his chairmanship of the board of governors at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. Over the past 20 years we have never seen such changes in banking circles and in banking products. It is a huge change for everybody. Quite a number of years ago, I told the Houses that a new, additional banking facility had opened in...

Seanad: Carer's Allowance: Motion (10 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the opportunity to say a few words about the motion. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the House and wish him well. I do not think I have spoken in the House when he has been here. We served together in this House for a good number of years. I compliment Senator Seery Kearney on tabling the motion. It is a great motion. There is very little in it against...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I would like to be associated with the vote of sympathy to Senator Mullen on the death of his father. It is not an easy time when one loses a loved one, so I wish the Senator well. We had a great debate here on tourism with the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, a number of months ago but we should have a rolling debate on tourism and the opening up of business, particularly small business...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Family Carers Ireland (5 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: The Chairman must be muted.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Family Carers Ireland (5 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome our guests from the SVP and Family Carers Ireland and thank them for their contributions. I have two questions. How is the poverty line defined and measured? Is it measured on the basis of a combination of housing, income or what? Who defines the poverty line? Is it defined in the same way right across the State or is it the SVP and similar organisation which define it? It has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Family Carers Ireland (5 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: Finally, has St. Vincent de Paul assisted people above the poverty line or is it a case of strictly implementing assistance for families below the poverty line?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Family Carers Ireland (5 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: The poverty line does not really come into effect at all then.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and Family Carers Ireland (5 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I thank Dr. Keilthy.

Seanad: Business and Covid-19: Statements (30 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Tánaiste to the House and wish him well with his portfolio. He holds a very important brief at this time. He told us: Around this time next month, we will publish the national economic recovery plan. It will present our vision for what the post recovery economy will look like, and how we plan to support businesses and employees in the months ahead. I believe he is...

Seanad: Post Office Network: Motion (26 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome this opportunity to say a few words on post offices and not for the first time. We have had quite a number of debates on post offices and post office closures over the years. I compliment Senator Dooley on tabling the motion, which is very important, as Senator Chambers has said. This issue needs quite a lot of debate because many...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome back to the House my colleagues, Senators Horkan and Maria Byrne, and congratulate them on their re-election. I commiserate with the people who put their names forward and were not successful, including two former Members. Will the Deputy Leader ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to come back to the House? We had a great debate some weeks ago...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Rural Development Strategy: Engagement with Minister for Rural and Community Development (20 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister. The plan is finally coming in and it is great that money is being distributed to rural Ireland. I am a big advocate of the one-stop shop. It is very important that people know where to go to get information and how to go about presenting plans. The Minister said she allocated €70 million in recent days and the figure was increased to more than €80...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Rural Development Strategy: Engagement with Minister for Rural and Community Development (20 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: It concerned grants for retail businesses in rural towns and villages to establish themselves online and complement their physical footfall.