Results 301-320 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (29 Mar 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 138: In page 63, paragraph 4(3), to delete lines 22 and 23 and substitute the following: "(3) The Minister, subject to due process, may at any time remove from office a member of the Authority if it has been proven that—". This was a worry and the Minister of State and other Members have acknowledged that it is a bit draconian for something concerned with education,...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: Yesterday in the Irish Examiner, a chartered engineer, Mr. Kevin Murray, estimated that the average consumption per house is 150 cu. m. At estimated current prices, this is worth €345. Mr. Murray questioned the point of having a €400 meter when the annual bill is only €345, particularly for small users. Lone small consumers should not only be exempt from the water charge but also...

Seanad: Road Safety Authority (Commercial Vehicle Roadworthiness) Bill 2012: Second Stage (18 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and agree with much of what has been said by Senators O'Sullivan and O'Neill. Road deaths have been reduced from a more than 600 annually and Senator O'Neill brought us up to date. However, 13 fatalities a month is still too many and we need to support the Minister as he attempts to reduce that number. This is a good time to consider where we should go next. In 2009...

Seanad: Sale of State Assets: Statements, Questions and Answers (19 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and support his statements this afternoon. This is a very necessary part of setting the economy to right on foot of the problems that date from 2008 and before. The McCarthy report, on these issues, was launched on 24 April last year and is, therefore, approximately a year in circulation. It contains much useful information on the companies that the Minister has been...

Seanad: Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union) Bill 2012: Second Stage (23 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I also welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his address. We must consider the small print in the legislation. I look forward to the debate, but it is important to start by stating those who may vote "No" are just as patriotic as those who think we should vote "Yes". One should not impugn the motives of those who may be in the "No" camp. There are many problems with this...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: In our discussions on water, there are aspects of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report which deserve our consideration. First, the engineers have sought to portray the 41% of water that is unaccounted for as people wasting water in their houses. One's house will flood. In the garden, one's garden will flood. It must be in the pipes outside houses and that is where the responsibility should lie.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: Page 41 of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report states that only 52% of the commercial water rates are collected. I am sure the Leader will advise the Minister to get those local authorities to go and collect the money. At this stage, we are short of money. People are uneasy that the wastage problem is being visited upon them when it properly rests somewhere else and that money due to the...

Seanad: Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: Yes, to my more eloquent colleague.

Seanad: Thirtieth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (24 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I echo much of what has been said. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Joe Costello, and thank the Ministers of State, Deputies Róisín Shortall and Fergus O'Dowd, who stood in for him yesterday. Some 90% of the content of the treaty has been agreed to already, as Senator Ivana Bacik pointed out. Is that not the problem? Take the situation in which Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy,...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (25 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I support what Senator Kelly has said. I welcome the Minister of State. Níl an Ghaeilge chomh líofa agam agus atá ag an Aire Stáit féin agus ag an Seanadóir Ó Clochartaigh, but it is nice to listen to it. We had a very good debate on this the previous day. The Minister, Deputy Bruton, was quoting Adam Smith and so on. I thought he would come back with much more radical things....

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (25 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: What the Minister of State has described is the theory involved. However, if one considers the Public Transport Regulation Act 2009, the Department said nothing. This is recorded in the screening regulatory impact analysis of the legislation which indicates that the Department either said nothing or broadly approved. That legislation was highly anti-competitive in nature, particularly as...

Seanad: Competition (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (25 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 4: In page 8, before section 6, to insert the following new section: "6.—(a) Subsection (1) of section 30 of the Principal Act is amended by inserting the following paragraphs after paragraph (g)— "(h) to study and analyse any practice or method of competition or decision with implications for competition in markets for goods and services that has its origins in a...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Second Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I commend the Minister, Deputy Burton, on her level of financial expertise, which has not been seen in the Department of Social Protection previously. She is combining the work she did as her party's very effective finance spokesman with her new area of responsibility. I will not intrude into the timeframe to which we wish to adhere. We need to consider the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012: Second Stage (27 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: If there are women in the community who would like to mind other people's children in their homes and have the ability to do so, why does child care cost so much in Ireland? I agree with the many Senators who have spoken about child care as an obstacle. We need a balance in job creation. We hear a great deal about new high-end jobs. That kind of job creation will not make any difference to...

Seanad: Protection of Employees (Temporary Agency Work) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (27 Apr 2012)

Sean Barrett: I support the sentiments of my colleagues. The appreciation of the Minister by the House is now unanimous.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I note the report by the Central Bank today which maintains that house prices in Ireland have over-corrected, having decreased by between 12% and 26%, which is interesting research. However, at least three people on the opposite side of the argument, Mr. Derek Braun, Mr. Ronan Lyons and Mr. David McWilliams, say that house prices in Ireland remain too high. It is important that we do not...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: This matter was raised on the Adjournment by Senator Darragh O'Brien. The Minister, Deputy Varadkar, said that he is delighted this matter has been finally resolved. I compliment him on having the Fry Model Railway returned to where it should always have been.

Seanad: Report of Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector: Statements, Questions and Answers (1 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I wish to share my time with Senator Rónán Mullen.

Seanad: Report of Advisory Group to the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism in the Primary Sector: Statements, Questions and Answers (1 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House. I was pleased to hear on "Morning Ireland" that the debating DNA of the Quinn family has been passed on to the next generation. We look forward to the Minister's son addressing the Seanad in the future. I am sure the Seanad will be retained because of debates such as this. The 2006-2011 census shows a population increase of 8.2 %. I compliment the...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I raise the issue of the Revised Estimate for the Office of the Attorney General, about which Members have received papers in the recent past. Its budget will increase by 12%, with increases of 11% and 9% on administration and pay, respectively, as well as provision for 5% more employees. I speak in the context of the difficulties being experienced by all offices at present and the worrying...