Results 4,161-4,180 of 5,040 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Restoration of Oireachtas Library and Reading Room: Motion (28 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: I commend my colleague and friend, Senator Michael McDowell, on driving this initiative. Let us be careful in what we are doing. I know we will have the full support of this House, if this motion is approved. The motion calls on the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission to abandon its proposals to convert the space into additional committee rooms and event spaces. That is to be commended....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: I will be brief because I have to attend another meeting. The officials from the Department are welcome. They have given in their presentation an overview to the committee, and that is noted. I want to double check one or two things. We are talking about the BAR eligibility provisions. To be clear, expenditure needs to be incurred and paid by public authorities by 31 December 2023 with...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: In its submission, the Department stated that expenditure "needs to be incurred and paid by public authorities by 31 December 2023". Is that correct?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: What is meant by "public authorities"?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: What other public authorities would the Department have in mind? The statement from the Department refers to "public authorities".

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: It could incur it later.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: There is some room for drawing down money after that date.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: There is flexibility, however.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: Will Mr. Conroy tell us where that flexibility is? Give me three examples.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: BIM is one such example. That is enough. What other agencies or authorities are we talking about?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: Okay. That is somewhat different from my initial misreading of this here. BIM is one of them. This funding is sent over to BIM, but it may still be with that organisation for three months, and into next year. This is possible. I do not want to get into any specifics, I just want to get an idea of how this works. I ask this because it is not a clear cut-off date. The axe does not come...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: Okay, but this is the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine and I am talking about an issue that the witnesses raised in the statement submitted to us. It is, therefore, within their competence. They have come here and presented this document and I am now asking them questions on this material. I want clarity from them as to what was meant by what was stated. This...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: That is grand. I am asking the questions and I just want to fully understand. I will be asking my own questions of the representatives from BIM tomorrow, independent of anything from here. There is, therefore, this limited flexibility. There is a situation, which we have learned about at this meeting, where there is limited flexibility. The Department is anxious to get all the projects...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: This is where we do our business and where we elicit information from, and I look forward to hearing from the Department. Would it be possible to make this happen pretty quickly, given we are within one month of the end of the year? We will certainly have other opportunities through parliamentary questions and commencement matters to flush this issue out with the Minister. I will also make...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: That is great and I appreciate it. The witnesses have a job to do and I have a job to do. I thank them. Moving on, I thank Ms Fay, who facilitated us and was with us during our visit to the mushroom facilities in County Monaghan. It was very interesting and informative, and I thank her for that. Those of us who were on that visit very much value having had her present with us on that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: They will be paid and this will end the scheme.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: Ms Fay referred to peat replacement. Can she share with us what that initiative was all about?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: Okay.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: In terms of assessing and monitoring the value derived in this regard, what is the plan? I refer to the BAR funding in this context. Clearly, there was a substantial amount of money involved and the mushroom sector welcomed this funding. Does the Department, though, do an appraisal of this spending? Who files reports on all this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Brexit Adjustment Reserve Fund: Discussion (29 Nov 2023)

Victor Boyhan: Yes.