Results 11,241-11,260 of 24,339 for speaker:Jerry Buttimer

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: Who was the Minister who changed the groceries order?

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I extend the sympathies of the House to the former Senator and Deputy, Noel Coonan, on the very sad death of his wife, Pauline. Those of us who had the privilege of meeting Pauline recognised her as a very warm, loving, caring, strong and powerful woman. We send our deepest sympathies to Noel and the family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Now for a happier announcement, I...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I wish her and Darragh every success and many years of happiness together. The Minister for Education and Skills is happy to meet with her at 5.30 p.m. rather than coming into the House if that is acceptable to her. He is deeply conscious of the issue she has raised. I have raised the matter with the Department on her behalf. I know that a letter was sent to the school sometime in October.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: If that is in order with the Leas-Chathaoirleach.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I would rather not divide the House because to be fair to the Senator there are means of having the Minister come to the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I understand the importance of the issue the Senator raised and I have been endeavouring to bring the Minister in to talk to the Senator and he is willing to meet her and talk to her about the matter. Rather than bring him into the House I hope that the Senator would accept the bona fides of the Minister this afternoon. It is a very important issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: Senator McDowell raised the issue of Seanad reform. Not being party to the correspondence he refers to I am in a vacuum. If he would be happy to share with me the piece of correspondence I would be happy to peruse it and give him a more detailed response. As far as I know the Government position on the Manning report has not changed since the Taoiseach was last here. Whatever some Members...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: Senator Conway-Walsh raised the issue of media ownership. We are lucky to have very independent media. I would be happy to have a discussion in due course regarding media ownership and so on. Senator Nash raised the issue of the industrial relations strategy. While it is important to acknowledge that there is a very strong mechanism in the State to deal with industrial relations, as the...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: The information provided to the Dáil last week was that this was the case. I am only giving Members what I have been told. There was to be a vote in the House last week and the vote was pulled on the basis that it would not be carried. I hope that Members would reflect upon that. In respect of Senator Ardagh's amendment to the Order of Business, I do not want to divide the House....

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: The Order of Business is No. 20, motion 11, re the conflict in Syria, to be taken on the conclusion of the Order of Business, without debate, and No. 1, Finance (Certain European Union and Intergovernmental Obligations) Bill 2016 - Committee and Remaining Stages to be taken at 1.30 p.m.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I join other Members of the House in sending birthday wishes to Senator Lynn Ruane today. We wish her well.I welcome my friend Mr. Pavlock from Philadelphia, to the House. He is a welcome guest. I thank the 19 Members who raised many issues. I will begin with Senator Colm Burke's remarks regarding the future health strategy. I do so in a spirit of co-operation and cross-party consensus....

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: If he talked to people on the ground, he would get a different reality.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I would be happy to invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to the House. Senators Ruane, Warfield and O'Reilly referred to education. The Cassells report has been published. There are different viewpoints in it. What we all aspire to and what we all want is to ensure people have access to affordable education. The rainbow coalition introduced free third level fees and this...

Seanad: Syrian Conflict: Motion (20 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I second the motion.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: The Order of Business is No. 1, statements on the Report on Programme to Review and Enhance Fire Safety in Local Authority Provided Traveller Accommodation, to be taken at 12.45 p.m. and to conclude no later than 2 p.m., with the contributions of group spokespersons not to exceed eight minutes and those of all other Senators not to exceed four minutes and with the Minister to be called upon...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I thank the 14 Senators who contributed to the Order of Business. I completely agree with Senator Daly on the need to transform the organ donation infrastructure in our country. The committee I chaired in the last Oireachtas completed a comprehensive report on organ donation and, in particular, on the need to change the model to a soft opt-out system. That is part of the difficulty, and...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: I will certainly try to do that. As the Senator knows, timelines are tight, but I am happy to try to facilitate that for her. Senators Kelleher, Butler and Swanick raised the issue of Syria. As Members know, an all-party motion is being circulated, which I hope will be signed by the different groups. It is important we send a unified message. We can argue about a sentence or a word here...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: One cannot engage in megaphone diplomacy on issues of such sensitivity around An Garda Síochána, the ASTI, the GRA, AGSI, doctors or whoever.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: We cannot do that on the airwaves or on television. The important point I wish to make is that I fully understand the frustration of members of An Garda Síochána. If Senators live and operate in the real world, they will see and hear their stories. It goes back decades. One can judge the morale of the gardaí from the internal working of An Garda Síochána and its...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2016)

Jerry Buttimer: The Minister was here last week.