Results 2,081-2,100 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 23: In page 9, lines 18 and 19, to delete all words from and including “deletion” in line 18 down to and including line 19 and substitute “ “substitution of “authorised” for “administered”.”.Senator Reilly has proposed amendment No. 24 and she will speak more eloquently than I on that. Amendment No. 23...

Seanad: Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Report Stage (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: No, it is not. I thank the Minister for her explanation of the transfer of responsibility to other bodies. The wording included in the Bill encompasses the issue.

Seanad: Education (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Fifth Stage (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I tabled 15 amendments in respect of this Bill. I know the Minister will consider them again. There is a possibility that loopholes could leave the State open to challenge. It is drafted too broadly and I hope this can be remedied when it comes before the Dáil. It treats RCSI much more leniently than Waterford Institute of Technology or Dublin Institute of Technology, which is a...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I support the amendment. Senator Crown has spoken very persuasively based on his renowned expertise in his field. If there are symptoms of cancer, diabetes about which one hears a lot, and circulatory diseases or abnormalities such as HIV which were mentioned by Senator Crown, I would hope the professional in this case would not just tell the patient he or she needs a new pair of glasses...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: The Minister of State rehearsed the list of people who are consulted. There were no patients. As a patient, I would be very pleased were this amendment implemented. It is like our other difficulty with the junior certificate. The 14 and 15 year olds I know were not asked whether they hate the idea that their work should be independently assessed. The matter is focused on the teachers....

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: In this area of public policy, the new entrants are the shining stars. We always say how much we appreciate young people and so forth. Unfortunately, however, the incumbents invariably find new ways to keep new entrants out. Regarding Senator Burke's point, the Competition Authority is a fairly barkless watchdog in these matters. There are so many examples in Ireland where the incumbents...

Seanad: Seanad Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Leader. Having reflected on this Seanad I think the problem it encountered was the attempt at abolition. We came in here, hit the ground running and had a brilliant year or so. The move to abolish us knocked us off course but we tried to come back as best we could. We did the task that the Leader annunciated and took legislation. For example, some legislation had 15...

Seanad: Seanad Bill 2013: Committee Stage (12 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: If today's proposal goes forward, with an electorate of 5.2 million as stated by the Minister of State, it will mean the Seanad will clash with the Dáil which has a smaller electorate. I do not want a mini-Dáil, a double sized Dáil or whatever. We are here to revise legislation. All second chambers are an artificial construction but the people voted to keep us. In response...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Chathaoirligh. I ask the Deputy Leader if we could have a debate on the rules that Senator Coghlan has just described. It is stated in the Nyberg report that had we had those rules on a 20% deposit and three and a half times income, the banks would have saved €62 billion. That is virtually all of the €64 billion we needed to bail them out. There...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: In the opinion polls this morning, the question "Should Kerry go it alone?" has a strong majority in favour.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I understand that the island status is already there, in Valentia, the Blasket Islands, the Skelligs and so on. Of course we would miss Senators O'Sullivan, Moloney, Daly and Senator Coghlan himself. However, would the right side of this not be that the other 31 counties might win the Sam Maguire on the odd occasion? I wish Kerry the best of luck in its new status.

Seanad: Commemoration Planning: Statements (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for her presentation and congratulate her on the successful launch last night. Someone from her part of the country is uniquely placed to celebrate this and it was an inspired choice of Minister. At the Battle of the Boyne site there is a very impressive full-colour photograph of the Taoiseach of the time, Bertie Ahern, and the First Minister of Northern Ireland at the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Overview of Banking Sector: AIB (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome our visitors. Questions Nos. 19 and 22 have not been answered. I ask the witnesses to answer them in correspondence. Question No. 22 asked what percentage of AIB customers pay at the highest rate of interest. The response directs us to Question No. 19, which is a different question and the response does not answer Question No. 22. I ask AIB to send a reply to the committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Overview of Banking Sector: AIB (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: While it was to be expected that the building and auctioneering industries would not like the proposed rules, the banking sector must support rules that ensure we will not have bank busts. I am pleased, therefore, with Mr. Duffy's response. In the reports compiled on behalf of the Committee of Public Accounts and Comptroller and Auditor General, Professor Honohan was especially concerned...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Overview of Banking Sector: AIB (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: What steps has the organisation taken to ensure it obtains more accurate information on what is going on in the sector and the economy does not go off the rails again? I commend AIB on changing accountants, which was, I believe, in the spirit of the Honohan report. What has been the bank's experience of making this change and how has it contributed to the overall improvement in AIB's...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Overview of Banking Sector: AIB (13 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: What company audits AIB now?

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: The Leader will note that Mr. Draghi of the European Central Bank, ECB, said today that he does not wish to appear before the banking inquiry here but he might participate informally. He went on to say that they had to pull the plug on what was happening in Ireland because the equivalent of 85% of our GDP was being given to enhance the liquidity of the Irish banking system. That is why he...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Horizon 2020: Statements (18 Nov 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State and wish him well. Some of the warning signs that Senator Craughwell has referred to came out of group think herd instincts in property which was a disaster. I see so little analysis of the research and innovation sector that I worry it could be the next herd instinct group think. I am afraid that we will all gallop in one direction that is without substance....