Results 22,741-22,760 of 23,109 for speaker:Paddy Burke

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (12 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish him well with the budget. I have seen many budgets come through this House. This is a very fair budget. The Minister of State will be well aware that even in the boom years no matter how much money was available it was not enough. That is the reality. I have seen budgets coming through this House and the budgetary spending provided...

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (12 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: It was very lightly struck. I wish the Minister of State well with the budget. I hope he will take on board the latter point I made. It should be taken on board because those derelict listed buildings are eyesores throughout the length and breadth of the country.

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (Resumed) (13 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I thank Senator Cummins for sharing his time. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Senator Ruane raised a very important issue and a very important aspect of the budget. I share Senator Ruane's view and I support her on this point. This needs resources and I hope it is an area that will be looked at in the future as it is very important. I want to raise two aspects. I cannot...

Seanad: Peat Harvesting: Statements (13 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I knew that Deputy Fitzmaurice was in the turf business, but I had not realised that Senator Mullen is involved in the transportation of turf. You find out something new every day. The value of this house is that there is great experience here. We are discussing horticulture and we have two horticulturalists in our midst, namely, Senators Boyhan and Murphy. They have outlined their great...

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

Paddy Burke: I support Senator O'Reilly in his comments on the shortage of work permits. There is a shortage across all enterprises in Ireland. I ask the Leader to raise the matter with the relevant Minister because a solution is badly needed. I call for a debate on Irish Water. It is now six or seven years since the organisation was set up and it would be timely to have a debate on it in the House....

Seanad: Finance (European Stability Mechanism and Single Resolution Fund) Bill 2021: Second Stage (14 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House to discuss this topic. It is important legislation. I wish the Minister well with it and congratulate him and the Ministers in the other member states for getting this work done two years ahead of time. The Title of the Bill, the Finance (European Stability Mechanism and Single Resolution Fund) Bill 2021, says it all. It is all about confidence and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: National Action Plan on the Development of the Islands: Department of Rural and Community Development (13 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome Ms Nic Aongusa and Ms Ní Chonghaile to the committee and I thank them for their presentations. I am delighted that the bilateral meetings within the Department are almost completed. Within the new tourism package being put in place, has any priority been given to the islands? This is an ideal opportunity to prioritise the islands. Have any discussions taken place on the...

Seanad: Sláintecare Implementation: Statements (19 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State and wish her well with delivery of Sláintecare. I welcome this opportunity to say a few words about Sláintecare. As Senator Seery Kearney stated, it is not an issue of money. We have never had more money allocated to our health services. The current allocation of €22 billion is an unbelievable amount of money when one weighs it up. It...

Seanad: Flood Risk Management: Motion (19 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish him well with his portfolio. I welcome the debate on this issue.It is an important issue that needs to be debated, so I thank the Green Party for tabling the motion. I agree with much of what the party's Senators have said. There are areas where flooding can travel upstream but, equally, there have been instances in the past where...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Schemes (20 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am sharing time on this with Senator Kyne, who comes from the same type of area as I do, as does the Cathaoirleach. There was a huge fire in Killarney during the summer. Fires pose great problems for many people and many farmers. A fire on commonage, in forestry or on any land can be started by fishers, campers, hillwalkers or various people...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Agriculture Schemes (20 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: What the Minister of State is saying is that if a fire takes place between 1 March and 31 August the farmer loses money unless the appeal is successful. Even at that, the farmer will have to go through the rigours of the appeal process. These appeals should be fast and simple. They should not be complicated. Farmers who are not responsible for the fires should be fully recompensed...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Oct 2021)

Paddy Burke: Like Senator Davitt, I wish to call for a debate in relation to climate change and climate action. There is so much work to be done over the next ten years to meet our targets that a debate in this Chamber would be most welcome. The budget for climate action is going to be €20 billion a year for the next ten years. Ten years ago, that figure of €20 billion represented half...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Paddy Burke: I second the proposed amendment, which is very important. I raise the issue of the high cost of road diesel. Tomorrow, the Irish Road Haulage Association will hold a demonstration outside Leinster House and will probably bring the city and the country to their knees. Many road hauliers' businesses are on the line. It is difficult for them to keep going in light of the high cost of road...

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

Paddy Burke: I call for a debate at some stage in the near future with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Ryan, on roads infrastructure. I welcome the new contract awarded for the road from Frenchpark to Scramogue in the west. I hope that parts of the road will have a two and one design, where traffic can overtake safely on single lane roadways. A significant number of other single lane roads...

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

Paddy Burke: I support the case made on behalf of secretarial assistants. If a level in the Department must be agreed with then secretarial assistants should be moved to a different level of pay within the structure of the Department because we all know that the work done by them is without question. I support the call made by Senator Buttimer yesterday for a debate on amateur boxing. The Senator...

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

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State. I have two issues to raise. I think that we should regionalise our energy production. On the west coast, we had the finest wind speeds in the world, yet there is not a single pylon or wind turbine along the west coast. If we regionalised the production of wind energy along the west coast, then we could move our data centres and big energy users to the...

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

Paddy Burke: Like Senator Blaney, I welcome the scheme in regard to the mica and pyrite issue and I hope it can be finalised. We are close to putting in place a good scheme. I hope that the Minister and all those involved can find a resolution that is suitable to everybody. I note that the Deputy Leader, Senator Chambers, was involved in this and that she is hopeful that we can get a final solution to...

Seanad: Human Rights in China: Motion (1 Dec 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this Private Members’ motion. It is almost 12 months since this House unanimously agreed a motion in regard to the unlawful detention of Richard O'Halloran, an Irish citizen in detention in China. As Senator Craughwell said, Richard O'Halloran should be at home and if diplomatic relations were working properly, he would be at home....

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

Paddy Burke: I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on this issue. I welcome the Minister to the House and congratulate him. He has had a very difficult period over the last two years as the Minister for Health. No Minister for Health in the history of the State has suffered as much he has or encountered so many difficult situations. It is a great task to get on top of this pandemic that befell...

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

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The Finance Bill comes around fairly quickly. It does not feel like it has been 12 months since the last Finance Bill. I have a few questions for the Minister of State. I missed the opportunity to ask some of them of the Tánaiste when he was in the House earlier. The Department of Finance estimates that we will have spent €48...