Results 4,701-4,720 of 5,587 for speaker:Kevin Humphreys

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Fire Safety (7 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I thank the Minister of State. Maybe he could ask the officials to actually respond to the particular questions I raised in the first instance. I ask them to comment on the 91 residential buildings that were identified as having cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower. Is there a register in the fire stations so that the fire services actually know where those buildings are and do...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Senator Lombard made a good point about the serious discussions and debates that are needed. The reality is that there will be far more of these storms in the future. The effects of such storms will extend beyond the telephone and electricity lines to the crops that are growing throughout this country. Senator Lombard is going to have to be realistic about these issues. We are part of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I would like to comment on the issue of work permits. One thing we have to ensure is that our long-term unemployed have an opportunity to get back into the workforce. I compliment Mr. Parlon and his association on their engagement with the local employment service, LES, in focusing on upskilling and training people who have been out of the workforce for a long period. A lot of that has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Does Mr. Cummins accept that it involves rental of public space?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: However, Mr. Cummins is not doing his industry any good by not calling it exactly what it is, namely a rental of a public space. It is not a tax.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: The Chair is right but I am taking issue with the concept of renting the public space from the citizen. In turn, the money goes back to the citizen through the local authority. We need to be more careful with our language in this regard.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Mr. Cummins will have to accept there is pressure on the four Dublin councils about the inappropriate positioning of chairs and tables forcing pedestrians, pushchairs and wheelchairs onto the main road.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Could it be targeted better?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Mr. Cummins is misunderstanding my question. I accept there are EU rules on VAT. However, if one puts the value of the 9% rate in real terms it comes to hundreds of millions of euro. If the rate were returned to 13.5%, it would yield between €500 million and €600 million. In turn, that could be spent in a more targeted manner in assisting growth in the tourism industry in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: On the skills shortage in farming, has there been a geographic mapping of where the skills shortages are and in what type of areas? In social protection, the Intreo offices, as an employment agency, have done quite extensive research into the skills that people who attend those offices have. I always worry when people talk about the first option being bringing in foreign workers who need...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: There has been an expansion of farm assist beyond rural areas in the west. Has there been engagement other than the pilot scheme? We have to consider the unemployment figures in rural Ireland. Mr. Stapleton is saying there are job opportunities. There has to be a matching up of skills rather than the first option being to look for work permits for workers from outside the EU.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Is the IFA engaging with the Intreo offices?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Mr. McDonald's argument regarding work permits would be much stronger if he were to formally engage on a larger scale and show that people with the necessary skills are not available here and neither is their potential to employ such people here. The association has to engage on this on a larger scale other than a pilot project. The same applies to the argument regarding the expansion of a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Cost of Doing Business in Ireland: Discussion (Resumed) (12 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: That was quite a mouthful.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I want to raise the issue of affordable housing. In March, the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Damien English, promised there would be a scheme for affordable housing and affordable rental units. We are still waiting for it. In September, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, made a similar...

Seanad: Special Needs Assistants: Motion (13 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I am particularly proud to stand here and support the SNAs. Ever since I came into politics, I have always fought the battle for the parent, and parents certainly values the assistance that an SNA gives to the child in the classroom. Those parents know that their child could not go through the educational system without the support of the SNA. On many occasions I have had to support the...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: A cuddly Leader.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Like many others, I wish the staff a happy Christmas. Judging from the television this morning, it will be a difficult Christmas for people who lost family members in that terrible fire in London. It has been six months since the fire in Grenfell Tower. We remember our own people who were lost in the Stardust fire. Those families have never got over the loss of their children. They raise...

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (14 Dec 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I did but got no answers.