Results 9,101-9,120 of 24,571 for speaker:Jerry Buttimer

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: An agreement was arrived at between Senator Black and the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade regarding the Bill. We were happy to support the adjournment of the Bill to allow for discussion, commentary, back-channel discussion or research to be done. It is important to recognise at the same time that a sovereign leader of an independent country is entitled to his viewpoint and we should...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I was taken aback by the newspaper headlines. I think it says more about the Prime Minister of Israel than it does about us. We will determine our policy. I will make the point, as I said in the House last week when some people took umbrage, that the issue of lobbying is one that we need a collective discussion on. Lobbying happens every day of the week. Lobbying happens with amendments...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: There is nothing wrong with it but let us understand that there are various different types of lobbying and let us get real about it. It happens every day of the week. The nature of lobbying is to put forward a viewpoint. I do not agree with Prime Minister Netanyahu's decision last week but he was lobbying, at one level. That is what it is called.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: It is the same thing.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I assure the Senator that many of us are told what to do everyday. That is the nature of politics. I agree with the Senator that we have to stand up to the Prime Minister of Israel and say that we can do our own business our way. Let us not be afraid of saying that. I agree with Senator Dolan regarding the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. I have spoken with the...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: That has changed in terms of its output and outcome. I know where the Senator is coming from. We will have that debate in the coming weeks. Senator Conway-Walsh raised the issue of the schedule. I thought we might have agreed the schedule at the group meeting on Wednesday. I will not adjourn the Bill this week. I propose that we will not adjourn it on Thursday when it comes in but allow...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: However, it is important that we do not allow misinformation to go out here. The Minister and the HSE made progress on foot of representations. It is not all just about parents being on the committee or the steering group.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: In response to Senator Higgins, last week we moved the statements on foreign affairs. I have no control over the Minister's diary. When I became aware of it, I deliberately informed the House at the beginning of the Order of Business that the Minister could not be here because I know it is an important issue for Members of the House. I did not have to do so. I give the Senator a...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I will answer that specifically in a second. The headline is about creating sensation. I will have the Minister, Deputy Ross, come to the House because it is about ensuring that we have good-quality public transport, that we have sustainable transport links but that we have transport links for rural areas. I am not afraid to say that we have a dispersed population, but we cannot have all...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: It was. What Mr. McCreevy said is anathema to some in Fianna Fáil and the Sinn Féin Party today. We will not have post offices or Garda stations on every corner.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: On a sad note, an independent and wonderful bookshop - Liam Ruiséal's - is closing in Cork. People on radio and social media are today lamenting its closure, but when did they last go into the shop? When did we last use the post office, bank or-----

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I have an ongoing row with Bank of Ireland, of which I am a customer, because I refuse-----

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: Senator Norris is right. I refuse to use online banking.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I agree with Senator Norris. Our banks, which we bailed out, do not want us going into them.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: A bank has only one teller's position open when we go in and queue. I was in Bank of Ireland in Douglas yesterday morning. A lady comes around, asks whether we are okay with this or whether we need to use that machine, and the queue suddenly becomes smaller. We should be asking people to go to our post offices and banks and use them,-----

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: -----not driving them away. Bring them in.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: We will have a debate on the national planning framework and rural sustainable development.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: It is about ensuring balanced economic development. I am glad that Senator Craughwell is okay.

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: We heard about his scare during his fine interview on radio. He did well. The national trauma centre strategy report - I have lost my written note - has been published. One in four people is transferred out of the centre that they attend. Time is critical. I cannot find my note,-----

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: -----but it is important to tell the Senator. I read an article in The Irish Timeswritten by the president of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, Professor John Hyland. He called for the trauma report to be implemented. Time is critical. Perhaps we are mirroring the UK's 2010 model, although I am not saying that that is a good thing. We need a realistic debate on where to locate...