Results 441-460 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: Yesterday, the Irish Independent carried a story on its front page which indicated that health insurance premiums would increase by ¤200 this year to cover the costs of looking after old people. I ask the Leader to raise with the Minister some of the efficiency issues Senators discussed with him last week. The Milliman review, which examined the issue of ageing by comparing data for 2010...

Seanad: Thirty-First Amendment of the Constitution (Children) Bill 2012: Second Stage (2 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. I echo and support everything said about her in bringing forward this legislation, including her clarity, thoughtfulness and coolness in the way she has presented it. This debate could become somewhat fraught, but I do not think it will under the Minister?s guidance. The Minister was a Member of this House, as was the late Mr. Gordon Wilson. At the time when he...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: In today?s Irish Independent it is pointed out that in the first nine months of the year taxation rose from ¤26.1 billion to ¤28.5 billion. I make that a rise of approximately 9.2%. At the same time current Government expenditure rose by ¤125 million. Those numbers are extremely serious in the context of the Leader organising pre-budget debates. It means the entire burden of adjusting...

Seanad: Radical Seanad Reform Through Legislative Change: Statements (3 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank Senators Katherine Zappone and Feargal Quinn for bringing this proposal before the House. I also thank the Leader, the Cathaoirleach and the Leas-Chathaoirleach for their contributions. Although I have no direct experience of anything that went before, this Seanad, which contains 42 new Members, has proved its worth in the past 18 months. This country was not bankrupted by Members...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: Senator Ivana Bacik referred to the Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill which we will be discussing presently. I agree that it was a terrific debate last week, when we heard phrases such as "pane of glass" and so on. Unfortunately, the Bill that will be before us later will mean that 110 agencies will be exempt, whereas the number was 60 before we started the debate. We all praised the Ombudsman,...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: We had measures to abolish the Seanad and get rid of the stresses on accountability and checks and balances, but how, in one week, did an extra 50 agencies manage to exempt themselves to avoid the attention of the Ombudsman? I want to know who has been going up the back stairs of Government Buildings. This is lobbying at its worst.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I agree with the Minister that the Second Stage debate was very useful. The observation was made during that debate that this type of legislation is necessary because Sir Humphrey is not a natural democrat. In these grim times, when so much of the reform is stymied by a regrettable lack of funding, it is important that we examine every opportunity to enhance accountability and scrutiny in...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: While cheerleading is not allowed in the House, the Minister would enjoy my support if he were to reduce the six month period. I suggest a period of three months should apply. Perhaps he will consider before Committee Stage whether the legislation can be commenced sooner, but we will leave the matter to his judgment.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I do not agree with the decision to group 15 amendments together. Amendment No. 33 amounts to three pages of legislation, while amendment No. 34 amounts to four pages. Each of the amendments in the group raises serious issues and teasing them out individually would help in the preparation of the Bill. Too much is being swept into one set of amendments in which different issues arise. If,...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 2: In page 3, lines 26 and 27, to delete ?or an exempt agency?.Seeing the two Wexford men on the other side of the House, I am reminded of the line, ?To burst in twain the galling chain and free our native land?. That is the objective we all have and I am here to assist the Minister to make a major breakthrough in our democracy. No agencies should be exempt from...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister. My fear is that the broad power of the Minister under section 4(1A)(1)(b)(ii)-----

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I was asking what the Ombudsman could do if we did not have the exemption status. According to the section to which I refer, she could investigate any entity that is financed wholly or partly, whether directly or indirectly, by means of moneys provided from the Exchequer. Taxpayers have that entitlement. That is my concern about exemptions. They know where one is when they are looking for...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: The decision on that issue has to be reviewed somewhere. We are trying to develop tourism, through The Gathering etc., and in a strange process, we increase airport charges at the same time.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: The regulator in that case acted at the behest of the airport authority and to the detriment of the rest of us in the country. That is what I say to a 41% increase in charges. If there is a general power that anybody who looks for public money under section 4 is reviewable, we should specify the exemptions - the concept of which is wrong anyway - in a section of the Act rather than have a...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister and my colleagues for a good discussion on exempt agencies. As I do not want to delay the Minister in his reform agenda I suggest that the Bill list the principles rather than the agencies, provided it does not require a vast amount of work. I have been fairly hard on exempt agencies and do not wish to press the point on amendments Nos. 2 and 4. Exempt agencies have...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 7: In page 4, lines 21 to 30, to delete all words from and including ?means?? in line 21 down to and including ?excluded.?,? in line 30 and substitute ?as is defined in section 4;?.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 9: In page 4, paragraph (b)(i), lines 33 and 34, to delete ?or an exempt agency?.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: We did not reach some of the issues but I appreciate the Minister's sentiments.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: The Acting Chairman says that we discussed them but, with respect, we did not. My amendment deals with lobbying - a cause that is dear to the Minister's heart - where one considers that one has been damaged by the activities of lobbyists. That is what they are about and let there be no doubt about it. The lobbyist makes his client, the person himself or herself better off but who loses?...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (4 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister.