Results 4,081-4,100 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome Senator Máiría Cahill. I hope she will enjoy being here. I look forward to hearing the perspective she will bring from Belfast to the deliberations of this House. I echo what other Senators have said about the bombings in Paris. I commend the Taoiseach on his statement. I also commend Uachtarán na hÉireann, who went to the French Embassy in Merrion Square...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (17 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. With regard to amendment No. 102, which the Minister of State, Senator Aideen Hayden and Senator Kathryn Reilly referred to, I believe that we must ask why this sector is way out of line with consumer price inflation. As legislators, we have to put the pressure back on the appropriate party. At the banking inquiry, we asked Michael O'Flynn, a...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I echo what Senator Bacik has said about the Northern Ireland agreement, A Fresh Start, which includes compensation for the removal of the peace walls. I hope the latter will be possible. There will also be a fund to secure, once and for all, the end of paramilitary groups, which have done much damage. There is also some funding for project relating to the A5, which connects Aughnacloy,...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Leader.

Seanad: Tributes to Former Senator Jack Fitzsimons (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Fitzsimons family, whose names are on the record. These are very important occasions in which the Seanad pays tribute to former Members. We stand on the shoulders of giants here and traditions, including interest in the environment, were built by the likes of Jack Fitzsimons and enhanced every day. Senator Norris is the leader of the university group of Senators and has asked...

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 1:In page 6, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following:"5. Where the burdens of bank recovery and resolution impose excessive burdens on a member state of the eurozone an agreed re-introduction of a national currency and a flexible exchange rate regime shall be a permitted alternative to the bank recovery and resolution measures of Part 2 of this Act.". As always,...

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister of State for his contribution, as always.

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 2:In page 8, line 24, to delete "stand" and substitute "stands". This is a small amendment on grammatical matters, and I will leave it to the Minister of State to handle it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 3:In page 11, line 11, to delete "2 weeks" and substitute "1 week". This is taken from the note supplied by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service that the ECB might like a faster period of reimbursement, hence the proposal of one week rather than two. The Department of Finance told the Oireachtas Library and Research Service this was being discussed and it might...

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I accept the point made by the Minister of State.

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 4:In page 17, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:"22.The Minister shall submit to both Houses of the Oireachtas an annual report on the regulation of the Insurance sector including solvency, premium increases, competitiveness and all matters included in Part 4 of the Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2015.". I have a number of concerns in this regard,...

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: The recommendation from the National Competitiveness Council is that the Central Bank and the Department of Finance should continually review and monitor the accuracy and proportionality of financial services regulation, which, as the Minister of State has said, now includes the insurance sector. The money involved for Setanta was €92 million, while Quinn Insurance lost €905...

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 5:In page 17, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following:“22. The Minister shall not issue a direction to the National Treasury Management Agency when advised by the Agency that such a direction will reduce the value of its portfolio.”. This amendment seeks to remove doubt as to whether it was correct to overrule the NTMA and compel it to buy shares...

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister of State for his response and will not be pressing the amendment. However, I would prefer an intention not to put another €30 billion into a dud bank. I am highly unlikely to ever have to make such a decision, whereas the Minister is, so I will bow to that superior knowledge. A system of checks and balances to make sure that it does not happen again would be...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I echo Senators Cahill and Ó Clochartaigh in praising the work of the First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson, in bringing the peace process forward in this country. In addition to going to Clontibret, as Senator Wilson stated, I met him twice in Dublin Castle so he comes South on more peaceful visits. At the installation of President Michael D. Higgins, I, like Senator Cahill, found him to...

Seanad: Gradam an Uachtaráin Bill 2015: First Stage (19 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I second the proposal.

Seanad: National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: What the Minister has said is at odds with section 18(9) which provides that the chief executive officer may not question or express an opinion on the merits of any policy of the Government or a Minister of the Government or the merits of the objectives of such a policy. I am in favour, in particular where the arts are concerned, of the maximum amount of expression. If all we need to do is...

Seanad: National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: Some commentators have expressed surprise that RTE is not mentioned in section 28. Section 28(11) provides that the board of the NCH shall consider, on an annual basis, whether its subsidiary, partnership or other such corporate vehicle formed under this section should continue in existence. An annual basis might not be enough if one wished to have a series of symphony concerts with the...

Seanad: National Cultural Institutions (National Concert Hall) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) (19 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: Long may that continue.

Seanad: Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Committee Stage (19 Nov 2015)

Sean Barrett: I wish to express my complete disappointment with this Bill. It does nothing about the conveyancing monopoly which imposes a cost on every person who buys a house in this country. The costs are way in excess of those which obtain in the United Kingdom. That damages our competitiveness. The Bill does nothing about the right of audience to a barrister without having a solicitor present. It...