Results 1,041-1,060 of 1,729 for speaker:Maria Byrne

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: While I understand Senator Higgins’s passion, as well as what she said, we have to deal with reality as well. The fact is that so many businesses will be impacted by this. There will be a knock-on effect. Businesses are going through a hard time because of Brexit, Covid-19 and so on. We are all talking about schemes to support businesses because they are going through a turbulent...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I want to follow up on what Senator Casey said. I realise that we will not get to section 70 now. Our recommendation on that section has been ruled out of order. Many businesses do not qualify to enter the scheme in December. I ask the Minister to consider ways in which they could enter the scheme from January up until April. I ask the Minister to include them in his scheme.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the good news from the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, this morning about how the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, and the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, are to be kept for a further two months. This is welcome news for many businesses, small, medium and large. It gives a sense of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: It certainly was record breaking. I congratulate Seán Finn, Barry Nash, Diarmaid Byrnes, Declan Hannon, Kyle Hayes, Will O’Donoghue, Darragh O’Donovan, Gearoid Hegarty, Cian Lynch, Tom Morrissey, Seamus Flanagan and Peter Casey. It was an outstanding performance. To have 12 all-stars awarded to the one county is record breaking.I congratulate all involved. Since 2018,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise two issues. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, confirmed after the Cabinet that a €36 million investment will be available to Shannon and Cork airports. A review brought to Cabinet showed that passenger numbers at Shannon Airport were down 1.5 million to just over 300,000. I understand that this money will be for security and sustainability. This is important for the...

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

Maria Byrne: I wish to raise two issues. First, I join Senator Fitzpatrick in respect of the undocumented. I compliment the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and all involved in the launch of the campaign that will allow people to register in January. I met constituents over the weekend who fall into the category in question. They have been studying and doing everything under the radar and want to...

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Enterprise, Trade and Employment): Statements (7 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I welcome the Tánaiste to this very important debate. I thank him and the Government for not being found wanting over the past 18 months with their support for businesses. As I hear every day from businesses in my neck of woods in Limerick, many of them would not have survived if not for the supports that have been put in place. As the Tánaiste said on Friday last, while we do...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for coming here for this important debate. The Finance Bill will affect all of us, right across every sector. There is increased spending within the budget, which will affect all sectors in society. I welcome the increase in the tax bands for both employees and employers. That is very important and puts a little bit more money into everybody's pocket. We had...

Seanad: Maternity-Paternity Leave for County and City Councillors: Motion (7 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for coming before the House and thank the members of the administrative panel for bringing forward this timely debate. Thinking back to my time on the council, young females never came forward. While we had young males, there were never young females. Much of the time they said it just was not a family-friendly choice. That is obvious from what is coming out...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I called yesterday for the reinstatement of the employment wage subsidy scheme. All of us in the Chamber are concerned about the hospitality and tourism industry. Last week I spoke about supporting local businesses on Black Friday. We should really get the message out there that people can support hospitality and tourism by buying vouchers and support local businesses by buying their...

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Education): Statements (2 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister for coming to the Seanad for this very important debate. I compliment her and all the officials who have worked so hard over the past 18 months, which has been a challenging time. The Department is dealing with many schools with different issues, so it is certainly not an easy task. There needs to be communication. I know the Minister has had a lot of communication but...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I wish to lend my support to the businesses that are being affected by the pandemic, in particular those in the hospitality industry. As late as this morning, I heard that a small boutique hotel within my own area in Limerick has been hit by a number of cancellations. The owners had employed staff to facilitate what was expected to be a busy weekend. It is people's personal choice to...

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Health): Statements (1 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister for attending to discuss this important issue. I compliment the Government on the job it has been doing to date. Little did we think in February 2020 that we would be in the same situation in December 2021. I compliment those behind the roll-out of the vaccine programme. The vaccination centre in Limerick moved to a location just up the road from my house. Its work...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Elimination of Abuse Towards Referees, Officials and Players in Sport: Discussion (1 Dec 2021)

Maria Byrne: I apologise; I was at another committee meeting earlier. An area that I have a keen interest in is sport and I support many sporting organisations. I have heard some of today's discussion. When people are abused, be they the referee or the player or whoever, is there a support mechanism across the organisations that supports the referee at such a time, because some people go through...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Enterprise Support Services (30 Nov 2021)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for attending to have this all-important debate. I know how committed he is to this area and the work he has been doing. Alarm bells rang through my head when I read a newspaper report on Limerick and the wider Munster area and how there had been a 4% drop in business start-ups. I will preface my comments by saying that local enterprise offices, LEOs, are...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Enterprise Support Services (30 Nov 2021)

Maria Byrne: The uncertainty due to Covid is affecting businesses. I agree that we have had significant expansion of multinationals and that employers are trying to keep experienced employees in their employment. I would like to get the message out about all the support that is available. I accept the times are uncertain, but I encourage people to have faith in themselves and to get out there. There...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Maria Byrne: I thank Senator O'Loughlin for raising the fact that it is disability week. ParkMagic, along with the Disabled Drivers Association of Ireland, launched its app this morning and Limerick City and County Council is the first local authority to avail of it. A number of service users have used the app and they stated that when they come into town they have to plan their journey because...

Seanad: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Statements (30 Nov 2021)

Maria Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for coming to this debate. The national development plan is important to all of us. I regret what the plan states about the N20 and M20. When Project Ireland 2040 was launched by the previous Government in 2018, it referred to the M20. In this plan, it refers to the N20 and M20. I cannot reiterate enough how important this road link is. I recently met...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Nov 2021)

Maria Byrne: I second the suggestion made by Senator Buttimer that the commission should take the lead and put together a proposal for the secretarial assistants. I lend my support to all of my colleagues who raised that issue. I welcome the fact that today is the International Day For The Elimination Of Violence against Women. I also welcome that will be 16 days of activism to highlight the matter. I...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Maria Byrne: I often give out about what is happening at University Hospital Limerick but there was a very good occasion yesterday, which was the retirement of Bonnie the therapy dog. She has worked with the paediatric unit in the Children's Ark over many years and brought great joy to the children. She has been involved in calming the children and playing with them. This is a programme that should be...