Results 1,181-1,200 of 2,918 for speaker:Malcolm Byrne

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Electoral Process (5 Mar 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. As the Minister of State knows, we will have a referendum on Friday. We do not know what the results will be but it is certain that we will see the closure of thousands of primary schools all around the country to facilitate the vote. While I appreciate this may bring some joy to some of the students and indeed the staff, it causes childcare...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Electoral Process (5 Mar 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I join the Minister of State in thanking all of those involved in the electoral process because, without them, we would not have the democracy that we have. While this causes inconvenience to schools, the Minister of State will be aware that one of the primary reasons that I raise this as a concern is the effect on parents. If a school closes and they have existing childcare arrangements,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I am sure the Leader will join me in noting the fact this is a golden period for Irish athletics and, in particular, she might extend our congratulations to all of those athletes who performed so well at the World Athletics Indoor Championships, particularly our female athletes, who are doing this country very proud. I echo the remarks of Senator O'Loughlin concerning the question of the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: In terms of freedom of expression, there is a Senator here who regularly talks about misinformation. She is finally being called out and she should apologise.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I will start by echoing the call by my colleague Senator Fintan Warfield for a debate on the Report on Inclusion in Sport compiled by the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, otherwise known as the "RTÉ committee". We do a lot of other work, including that which we did in respect of the report. The report contains a number of very effective...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Such an invitation should issue to both Siún Ní Raghallaigh and Katherine Licken.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister and her officials for coming before us. We would all rather be here under different circumstances. We are spending three hours discussing a "Prime Time" programme and the fallout from it. I would much rather be talking about the broader issue of the future of media and public service funding or even other areas in the Minister's brief. Minister, I have been a strong...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: In the past nine months.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: As a proportion, roughly. You have a pretty large brief.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Would it be fair to say that a quarter of your----

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: How often would you have had contact with the chair since last July? Would it have been weekly? Would these be just occasional phone calls or regular meetings?

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Would it be fair to say you would have had monthly engagements, a formal sit-down meeting, and then your officials would have been in contact regularly? It is probably fair to say that, during certain weeks, you were probably talking to the chair three, four or five times a week.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: You have indicated that you had a pretty good working relationship with the chair and the team there. We have seen the catastrophe in RTÉ that was in many ways inherited by the former chair and the current director general. Are you and were you broadly happy with the direction in which the director general and the chair had been bringing the organisation? I totally acknowledge they...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Okay. I have to say and I am disagreeing with some colleagues here, I have confidence in Kevin Bakhurst. I do not agree with everything necessarily. I think he has made some missteps, but it is important from this committee to say, in the interests of the staff who are there and in the interests of the independent production sector, but indeed for public service broadcasting, at the end of...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: It was getting to a pretty difficult situation. I cannot accept, Minister, that you would go on "Prime Time" not expecting the question as to whether you have confidence in the chair. I am pretty certain that whoever would have advised you would have said to you in advance if you were prepared for this question.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I want to come back to questions my colleague, Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan was asking earlier. It seems to be that where your confidence was broken was around this issue where you had serious concerns about the information that was made available. You had said to Siún Ní Raghallaigh as chair that you were going to put those concerns in a letter to her, and Siún Ní...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Oversight of RTÉ's Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues and Plans for Longer-term Support and Funding for Public Service Media: Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media (27 Feb 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Is that not effectively the case then, that the chair had basically said she was going to resign?