Results 321-340 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (3 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: Moreover, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, is working to reduce such costs. I also note material is available that in the last review, the office created 13% fewer files and 53% fewer amendments, while Bills had 60% fewer sections. However, in the context of the comprehensive public expenditure review, the attempts to get value for money and the advice from the IMF...

Seanad: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Second Stage (3 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I join Senators Mooney and Comiskey in welcoming the Minister. I thank him for initiating the Bill and welcome his openness to considering amendments Members may put forward. The reference to 1911 in the Bill must date back to the era of Horace Plunkett, one of the great figures in public life then. Given that we will commemorate so much in the next few years, it occurred to me that the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: Arising from the points made by Senators MacSharry and Bradford, we are moving towards a stimulus package, with the French election results confirming that. It is important the package actually stimulates and we do not end up bankrolling bankers, bureaucrats and builders and end up with empty airports, hotels and golf courses. This must be done skilfully so I ask the Deputy Leader and the...

Seanad: Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill 2012: Second Stage (9 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I wish to share time with my colleague, Senator Norris.

Seanad: Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill 2012: Second Stage (9 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: It is strictly within the control of the Acting Chairman.

Seanad: Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill 2012: Second Stage (9 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: This is a fantastic opportunity. The Minister can declare, as a result of the Bill so ably proposed by Senator Crown, 2 million places where smoking will no longer be permitted. There are 2 million private cars in the country out of a total of 2.5 million vehicles. We do not have smoking in the other 500,000 vehicles because they are regarded as workplaces and, accordingly, we do not smoke...

Seanad: Protection of Children's Health from Tobacco Smoke Bill 2012: Second Stage (9 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: Not in cars anyway.

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (10 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 1: In page 12, between lines 27 and 28, to insert the following: "9.—(1) This Act shall not apply: (a) to the evaluation of educational course materials, course designs, evaluation structures and materials that have been analysed and adjudicated upon by an external examiner appointed by the academic council and the governing body of a previously established university,...

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (10 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon. I should have welcomed him to the House in my introductory remarks. I believe the universities should be excluded, which is why I tabled the amendment. They are competing at the highest possible international standard. This is a vote of no confidence in them by the Government. We are competing in research and in teaching with people of the...

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (10 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister of State for what he just stated. The amendment moves in the right direction and I am in agreement with it.

Seanad: Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (10 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister of State for taking on board what I said on Committee Stage. I appreciate the gesture.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: In last Sunday's edition of The Sunday Business Post, Emma Kennedy estimated that at present, approximately 90,000 people hold Leap cards, which gets one a discount on bus fares, in the greater Dublin area. It cost €55 million to get the system up and running, which comes to more than €600 per person who holds such a card. The card gets one a saving of 11% on one's fares and the average...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I would like a debate on admission to universities. When people are studying the leaving certificate, it is important they have confidence in the way they progress to the next level. Happily, some 70% of students do so, which is one of the highest figures anywhere. We have discussed problems in mathematics at second level and our neglect of languages. The system was set up by Professor...

Seanad: British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly: Statements (17 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: I endorse all the statements made by my colleagues. This is a marvellous time in British-Irish relations and the work of the interparliamentary body is to be commended by all sides of this House. When one thinks of some of the wonderful things that have happened, one could say the "Bull" Hayes was not the only person who shed a tear on that memorable day in Croke Park when God Save the...

Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (23 May 2012)

Sean Barrett: Like other Members I thank colleagues for tabling the motion. One of the things we are finding at present, with a view to events next week, is that we have lost a bit of our radicalism and we will have to address the reform agenda. I do not know what way things will work out next week. We inherited a situation when we were elected as Members – 42 of us were new – that the country had...

Seanad: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Jun 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. What we have embarked upon today is very important. We know we need to be able to live within our means, which will occupy us all in coming years. I assure the Minister of State that she will have support from these benches because it is vital that we be able to return to the markets and run our finances in an economical way. The problem with...

Seanad: NAMA and Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Transparency Bill 2011: Second Stage (6 Jun 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House. None of us wants to be here for this debate. This is a situation we inherited and it has been a disaster for the Irish economy. The conduct of bankers and their friends in the property business has brought this country to its knees, destroyed its international credit and raised unemployment from 4.5% to 14.5%. I am sure the Minister would much prefer...

Seanad: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Jun 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I support the amendment. It may be that small is beautiful. The managerial speak of the Department with responsibility for local government from many of its manuals, which are about 20 years out of date, assume that people at the top know better than others what they should think and do. The problem with that is that it comes without numbers. We have...

Seanad: Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Jun 2012)

Sean Barrett: There is an important point in Senator Cullinane's amendment. Yesterday's debate did not refer to the savings to be made from the abolition of these two agencies. I am trying to get a more cost-conscious approach to the issues arising from the McLoughlin report. The Government needs to live within budgets, but no statement has been made on how much will be saved in this context. At the...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Jun 2012)

Sean Barrett: Today's edition of The Irish Times has a headline, "Higher level paper [in mathematics] called disastrous, traumatic". That was the experience of 10,000 students taking that paper yesterday. The article contains a quote that, "Students' nervousness in advance of this exam paper was well-founded". We have discussed this on several occasions in the House. It is a major problem. Is project...