Results 421-440 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: We had a positive debate on the pricing and supply of medical goods with the Minister of State, Deputy Róisín Shortall, yesterday and the House wanted her to be more radical. She was speaking about reductions of 30%, but we were wondering whether reductions of 80% could be provided for. It emerged during the debate that the regulatory impact analysis had not been circulated to Senators....

Seanad: Irish Water and Related Reforms: Statements (20 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I always look forward to his visits here, particularly in the context of the wide range of topics he is prepared to discuss with us. It is going to be necessary for further information to be produced in order that some of the gaps to which Senator Daly refers might be filled in and I am of the view that a regulatory impact analysis is now required. We have...

Seanad: Flooding and Flood Prevention Measures: Statements (20 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. We always have good debates when he is present. I was asking for a-----

Seanad: Flooding and Flood Prevention Measures: Statements (20 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I will move to another seat.

Seanad: Flooding and Flood Prevention Measures: Statements (20 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank everyone for their patience.

Seanad: Flooding and Flood Prevention Measures: Statements (20 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I was absent for part of Senator Kathryn Reilly's contribution because I wanted to check on a point made by Senator Thomas Byrne. While I was a member of the National Economic and Social Council, NESC, a number of years ago, the idea of climate change was discussed. The Central Statistics Office used to have the numbers, but they are not in the statistical yearbook. The Minister of State...

Seanad: Flooding and Flood Prevention Measures: Statements (20 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: Thank you. The Minister of State will be aware that the Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts has been critical of the cost overruns in respect of drainage in Kilkenny. Have lessons been learned in this regard? I think Deputy McGuinness's ambition to be Chairman of the Committee of Public Accounts came about as a result of this project, which he believed was too expensive. There is a...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: On the front of today's edition of The Irish Times, it is reported that a top level report has urged a merger of Trinity College and UCD. It states the report was prepared without consultation with the colleges themselves and the panel worked solely on the basis of a portfolio of information and statistics about Irish higher education. The chairman of the group states modestly on his...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I echo the comments by Senators Coghlan and Ó Murchú. We do not come here for a Punch and Judy show and to have produced articles with lines like "Ashen-faced Minister will have to answer to the junior Minister because he was defeated in the Senate". We come here to serve the country and we should look at motions in that spirit because the previous type of politics led us to where we are...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: May I share time with Senator Quinn?

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: Yes.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the House. I strongly welcome the Bill. It is a part of a reform agenda that must be implemented as quickly as possible. Other issues have diverted us, but this is an important matter. Mildly put, Sir Humphrey is not a natural democratic. We must devise institutions to make him explain what he is doing and why. I join other Senators in paying tribute to the previous holders of the...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I support the Minister and will be opposing Senator Keane's amendment to change the Title of the Bill. It is an honour title.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: We are trying to get out from under the IMF, both in the verbal and financial sense. Regulators are not working in fields like aviation and transport. Representatives of the National Transport Authority wrote to a man operating buses between Limerick and Dublin recently indicating that he could not have extra buses operating if they were being left standing in the rain. The energy...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. As I said the last time he was here, he occupies probably the most demanding post in Irish public life. Perhaps "disagencification" might be the word for this in that we are trying to get rid of agencies and restore ministerial responsibility which, as the previous speaker said, we were discussing with the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform earlier. Looking...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Governance) Bill 2012: Second Stage (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I have had discussions with the Minister in the House on this issue and I am glad to conclude in the time limit. Milliman pointed out - I know the Minister sent it back into VHI - that people were being kept in hospital for 11.6 days when the average length of stay according to best practice was 3.7. We will end up with a hugely expensive system if we keep people in hospitals for an...

Seanad: School Transport: Statements (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. I note from his speech that the cost of the school transport scheme is ¤170 million per annum and that some 114,000 pupils are availing of it. If my arithmetic is correct, this amounts to an individual cost of ¤1,400 per year. I know schemes other than that of the Department with a different limit and in respect of which the catchment area is half suburban and...

Seanad: Life-Limiting Health Conditions in Children: Motion (26 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: I support the motion and regret the terms of the Government amendment to it. Less than a couple of hours ago, the Minister for Health was impressing Members hugely in this Chamber. It was a great debate in which he thanked Members, they thanked him and a spirit of camaraderie, friendship and so on obtained. He proposed to abolish the Health Service Executive, is working to this end and...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: A headline today, which is meant to cheer us in some way, indicates that house prices have shown the biggest monthly gain in five years, with hopes of recovery for homeowners. This is nothing of the sort as the increase is 0.5%. This issue should be debated as part of the Leader's preparation for the budget, as it will be the base for the property tax. This must be weighed against people...

Seanad: Smarter Travel: Statements (27 Sep 2012)

Sean Barrett: The Acting Chairman mentioned that the Minister of State was a Member of this House before. As I am a new Member, our paths did not cross. These are most exciting developments and I wish the Minister of State well. The energy in his script is impressive and pleasant to see. I wonder what we can do about schools. AA Roadwatch tells us that traffic is lighter when schools are on holidays...