Results 2,801-2,820 of 13,254 for speaker:Seán Sherlock

Seanad: Míbhuntáiste Oideachasúil (19 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: Let me first state that I apologise for not being able to engage with the Senator as proficiently as possible through the medium of Irish. Perhaps that is a reflection on the rota of Ministers who reply and perhaps he should have been afforded the opportunity of a full reply as gaeilge. I am pleased to have the opportunity to address the Senator about DEIS status for Pobal Scoil Gaoth...

Seanad: Míbhuntáiste Oideachasúil (19 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I acknowledge the point made by the Senator but there cannot be a geographical bias for bursaries either. We must have regard for the economic circumstances that we find ourselves in.

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: The scheme will not be debated. Best practice is to lay schemes before the Oireachtas and not to engage in debates on individual schemes. I cannot accept amendment No. 2, the purpose of which is to have the scheme debated. On Committee Stage, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, clearly indicated he was unwilling to engage in a further full-blown, policy-based discussion on the temporary partial...

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I do not know if Deputy O'Dea is playing politics with this issue-----

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: -----but I suspect he is doing so.

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: There is no precedent which would prevent the scheme, once it is up and running, being debated by the committee. There is no lack of clarity on my part or that of the Minister, Deputy Bruton, in respect of that matter. The Bill before the House is enabling legislation and the scheme is the subject of a procurement exercise. There were actually two such exercises carried out in respect of...

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: Without being disingenuous, I apologise to the Deputy if he found my remarks personally hurtful, although an element in my brain tells me his skin is thicker than he might let on.

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: The Deputy knows that when I say we know how the game is played, I mean there is a process and a system in place. I was speaking in a metaphorical sense. We are moving to ensure we can put the scheme in place and expedite it as quickly as possible. The scheme must be targeted towards commercially viable businesses. We are conscious that businesses have failed in the last while. That is...

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: It is important to answer the point. A charge had to be made under State aid rules. We all accept that premise. That is fact. The decision was for 0.8% upwards. The Government chose 2% as the most appropriate rate because one must allow an appropriate figure to be able to cover losses contributed to by administrative and other costs. One must factor that in. We are dealing,...

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I understand the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has already given a commitment that there would be a review of the scheme after a year of operation. It would be right and proper that a review would take place. As a matter of course one would have to review the scheme and I believe the Minister's commitment is sufficient. One could argue that there may not be sufficient data, patterns or trends...

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I acknowledge the Deputy's point which has been made in good faith. A scheme of this nature will be vital in providing the credit necessary to fund businesses which are the backbone of the economy. In this light, it would be ridiculous not to review the scheme after a certain time. It is important that it be reviewed.

Credit Guarantee Bill 2012 [Seanad]: Report Stage (20 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: Before continuing, I would be obliged if, in accordance with Standing Order 140, the Chair would direct the Clerk to make a verbal correction to the text of the Bill. It relates to the ordering on page 4 of the Bill of the definitions of "participating lender" and "participating borrower". I request that the order of these two definitions be changed in order that the definition of...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2012)

Seán Sherlock: Deputy Boyd Barrett is exploiting those people.

School Transport (4 Jul 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I thank the Deputies for raising this matter. School transport is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on the Department's behalf and more than 82 million km are covered annually. In the region of 113,000 children, including more than 8,000 children with special needs, are transported in approximately 4,000 vehicles on a daily basis to primary and post-primary schools throughout...

School Transport (4 Jul 2012)

Seán Sherlock: Deputy Smith takes an innovative view of how the Topical Issues debate should be utilised in respect of lobbying for the new school.

School Transport (4 Jul 2012)

Seán Sherlock: That is a lateral and imaginative view. I respectfully suggest that the Deputy should table a parliamentary question or discuss the issue with the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. It has been noted on the record of the House. There may be individual vagaries relating to counties Tipperary and Cavan. The Minister of State, Deputy Ciarán Cannon, has specific responsibility for this area....

Industrial Relations (4 Jul 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I understand the issues involved concern the outcome of a tendering process for the running of a bar in Terminal 1 of Dublin Airport. The Dublin Airport Authority has confirmed that the tender process for the outlets in question was conducted through the Official Journal of the European Union's system for public procurement and was fully compliant...

Industrial Relations (4 Jul 2012)

Seán Sherlock: I agree with everything Deputy Lyons has said. Let us be frank and honest about it. The issue at hand here is one of corporate social responsibility, a term we bandy around from time to time and can use quite easily. If there is a transfer of undertakings here, as Deputy Lyons stated, it says something about the morality of the company. There is a strong sense here of an obligation on the...

Education (Amendment) (Protection of Schools) Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (4 Jul 2012)

Seán Sherlock: In February, we debated the budget measures in regard to teacher staffing schedules for schools. The debate over the past two evenings has been a rerun of that debate. While Deputy Flanagan's Bill is well intended, it is fundamentally misconceived. I do not say that in a disrespectful way. The proposals the Deputy advances would keep schools open even if there were not enough pupils to...

Education (Amendment) (Protection of Schools) Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (4 Jul 2012)

Seán Sherlock: We should bear in mind that one third of public sector employees in the State work in the education sector. It is, therefore, not possible to exempt staffing in education completely from the Government's need to reduce expenditure. This is particularly the case at a time when the school-going population is increasing. There will be more difficult decisions in the next budget and the one...