Results 22,701-22,720 of 23,109 for speaker:Paddy Burke

Seanad: Carer's Allowance: Motion (10 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the opportunity to say a few words about the motion. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, to the House and wish him well. I do not think I have spoken in the House when he has been here. We served together in this House for a good number of years. I compliment Senator Seery Kearney on tabling the motion. It is a great motion. There is very little in it against...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I support the call made by Senator McDowell and others for a debate on cybersecurity and energy security. The security breaches of the last few days are not the first such breaches. A number of local authorities have been hacked in the past year and a half. I fully support the call for a debate. The Passport Office provides a great service. Its online service is very efficient and has...

Seanad: Loan Guarantee Schemes Agreements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Second Stage (17 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. I also welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this important legislation. The lack of sufficient finance is the biggest obstacle to businesses. I have seen many businesses fail due to a lack of finance or not being able to secure finance. In some cases, businesses do not have enough finance. In others, they are not able to get it and they fail....

Seanad: Loan Guarantee Schemes Agreements (Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: Like previous speakers, I would prefer if we had much more time to go into much more detail on the Bill but the main focus is to get it enacted in order that businesses can access much-needed finance. In many cases, businesses are dying because they cannot get access to funds, and it is critical that they get that finance. We had a good debate on Second Stage of the Bill. In regard to...

Seanad: Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. He has had a difficult time in his first year as Minister for Health and I congratulate him on the great work he is doing under difficult circumstances. Many people have had a tough time. We in the public service, including the Civil Service, have been well looked after and all of us on the public purse have much to be thankful for, but many small...

Seanad: Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: The conclusion the Government has come to is that there is no danger in people being outdoors. That is an aspect to be considered. I support what Senator Kyne said. We met pilots and people from the travel industry today. They are going through a very difficult period. On one hand that is an issue but, on the other hand, our tourism industry could suffer greatly. As has been said on...

Seanad: Planning and Development, Heritage and Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (24 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the House again. He is in regular attendance in this House. I would like to concentrate my remarks on section 30, which is an important section in that it deals with the transfer of powers. I do not agree with the Department's view that councillors cannot comment on planning applications. Councillors spend a lot of time developing and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: The Leas-Chathaoirleach has caught me by surprise.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: Today, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, will be in Swinford, County Mayo, which Senator Chambers will know well, launching community hubs, and we welcome that launch very much in Swinford today. This House played a major part in that regard. In 2009 or 2010 when the Courts Service Bill was going through the House, I tabled an amendment to the effect that when changes were made to the Courts...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Act 2021: Motion (31 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister back to the House and support the motion extending mandatory hotel quarantine to 30 July. It is a hugely draconian measure and I am delighted that its extension is only for a very short period. I am also delighted that the Minister has taken France, Belgium and the USA off the list. The French are now our nearest EU neighbours and there is a lot more activity between...

Seanad: Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (31 May 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. I received my vaccination at the Breaffy House complex. It was a massive success and worked like clockwork. The staff were brilliant, there were no problems, no time waiting and it was a great success all round. In 1928, Michael Collins's sister, Margaret Collins-O'Driscoll, had to speak against her own party in support of vaccination against smallpox,...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: I presume the question Senator Warfield is asking is will the houses in question be sold in a turnkey state, as opposed to dwellings without any furniture or fittings. However, there are different levels of turnkey. There could be an upgraded turnkey or a lower standard of turnkey. Additional costs could amount to €10,000 or €100,000, if we are talking about an exclusive...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: I agree with Senator Cummins. It is very clear from section 12 of the Bill that amendment No. 47 would not be suitable at all. It refers to a 20% equity stake. Who decides on the equity stake? In a housing estate of 100 houses, some houses may be slightly more valuable than others. They could be end houses, corner houses, houses with bigger gardens or houses that face south, for example....

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: Section 34 is the kernel of the Bill.It goes to the heart of it all. I fully support everything Senator Cummins has said. He has explained in great detail why we have gone down the route of cost-rental dwellings. The kernel of all of this is taxation. When the crash happened, developers and builders were demonised. We arrived at a situation in which we had no builders and no developers....

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: I do not think anything I am saying is outrageous. What I am saying is a fact. Some people find themselves as landlords accidentally.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: To the amendment, I support everything my colleague, Senator Cummins, has said in respect of cost rental.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: There will be no housing in the country-----

Seanad: Right to Housing: Motion (4 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: I will share time with Senator Ahearn. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, back to the House and compliment Senator Fitzpatrick on introducing this important motion. I fully support the right of everyone to have a house. There are different forms in which people can have a house, whether that be full ownership, long-term rental with security or public housing. The...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: I ask the Leader to arrange for the Taoiseach to come to the House to discuss the pyrite and mica crisis. This issue was raised in this House by former Senator, Michelle Mulherin, week after week for four or five years. The current scheme is not adequate and as others have said, it does not even cover people's costs. We must meet 100% of the costs involved. A number of other issues must...

Seanad: Public Service Pay Bill 2020: Second Stage (14 Jun 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and wish him well with this legislation. It is a very short Bill but it is very important. I am disappointed by some aspects. It does not go into great detail on benchmarking. I was a Member of this House when benchmarking was introduced. It was supposed to be the bee's knees for the way forward but we have not done any analysis of where we are with...