Results 4,841-4,860 of 5,311 for speaker:Tom Hayes

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Schools Building Projects Status (18 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan. I thank the Senator for raising the matter as it provides me with the opportunity to clarify the current position in relation to the major capital project for Scoil Mhuire, Stranorlar. The Senator will be aware of the demographic challenge facing the education system in the coming...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Apprenticeship Programmes (18 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: SOLAS is the body with statutory responsibility for the management of the apprenticeship training model in Ireland. SOLAS also convenes the national apprenticeship advisory committee, representative of employers, unions, education and training bodies and State agencies, to advise on a range of issues relating to apprenticeship. I understand from SOLAS that, as of 28 August this year, the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Apprenticeship Programmes (18 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: Nobody wants to give misleading figures. Senator Whelan is quite accurate in stating that there is a shortage of those skill sets because of the downturn in the economy. We are now in a different situation. There is a realisation that plasterers, chippies and those involved in the needs of industry have gone to America or Australia, or they are all over the world. Those tradesmen can...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: UN Resolutions (18 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: Ireland attaches great importance to family-related issues. We recognise the crucial role of parents, care givers and extended families in improving outcomes for children and young people, the important role of families concerning responsibility and care for the elderly, as well as the need to provide support to families to enable them to play these important roles. Families can provide an...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: UN Resolutions (18 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: Briefly, I am sorry the Minister is not available as he is otherwise engaged but I have no doubt that he will engage with the Senator. However, I refer to the thrust of what he has being saying. The family, as we know it, is a central part of what we want to protect in Ireland. We always value what the family stands for and what it does in regard to older people and protecting our children...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Fisheries Protection (18 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: I thank Senator Sheahan for raising this issue. All matters relating to the operational enforcement of sea fisheries law are, by statute, matters appropriate to the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority. SFPA is the independent law enforcement agency of the State for sea fisheries law. As Minister of State, I do not have responsibility in regard to the issues raised by the Senator. ...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Fisheries Protection (18 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: I thank Senator Sheahan for his contribution. He has a great knowledge of the issue and I will relay his comments to officials in the Department. Securing a resolution will require that we take a balanced approach for the sake of the fishing industry.

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: Coillte Teoranta was established as a private commercial company under the Forestry Act 1988 and day-to-day operational matters, such as contractual arrangements and sources of funding, are the responsibility of the company. As a commercial company, Coillte is required to publish annual accounts, copies of which are laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas, in accordance with the Forestry...

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: Coillte is a large operation with SmartPly, Medite and other forestry product projects. The whole forestry industry is growing, including the private forestry sector. Coillte has been responsible over many years for the development of our forest business. The potential for exporting timber is now significant. As the Deputy said, he visited Coillte last week and engaged with the company....

Other Questions: Departmental Expenditure (23 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: I assure Deputy Boyd Barrett that Coillte must publish its accounts each year. We want the company to be profitable. When the Government took office it carried out a root and branch assessment of many public bodies and companies, including Coillte. It was the Government's view that the company should be more focused, on afforestation in particular. We want Coillte to be progressive,...

Leaders' Questions (23 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: They opposed every one of them.

Leaders' Questions (23 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: Not even Deputy Mattie McGrath.

Leaders' Questions (23 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: Sinn Féin is lonesome.

Leaders' Questions (23 Sep 2014)

Tom Hayes: In Sinn Féin's book a garda married to a teacher is rich.

Seanad: Forestry Bill 2013: Second Stage (1 Oct 2014)

Tom Hayes: I am pleased to present the Forestry Bill 2013 to this House and look forward to Members' constructive contributions on its provisions. Since the beginning of its passage through the legislative process, the Bill has been the subject of much discussion with stakeholders and Oireachtas Members. I am pleased to announce that as a consequence of these consultations I propose to introduce a...

Seanad: Forestry Bill 2013: Second Stage (1 Oct 2014)

Tom Hayes: It is a contentious issue.

Seanad: Forestry Bill 2013: Second Stage (1 Oct 2014)

Tom Hayes: Senator Landy will be warm this winter.

Seanad: Forestry Bill 2013: Second Stage (1 Oct 2014)

Tom Hayes: I thank Senators for their constructive contributions, which follow on from what their party representatives did in the Dáil during a similarly constructive debate. Opposition Members have been very helpful in steering this Bill in a helpful direction. It is all about timber and trees. There is something very special about trees and their connection to the environment. When I took...

Agriculture Industry: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (8 Oct 2014)

Tom Hayes: I am glad to have had an opportunity to be here for the last hour and a half and listen to the various views of Deputies on both sides of the House. I have been struck by the significant amount of knowledge and ideas we have heard from all sides. I heard Deputy Creed suggesting that we need to sit longer and talk more. I agree that we need a full day's discussion on all the issues of...

Agriculture Industry: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (8 Oct 2014)

Tom Hayes: In the past week, I went to the west to see what is going on at first hand. I saw huge prices being paid for year-old cattle. The reality is that prices which were unheard of over the last couple of years are being paid. Prices for suckler calves were high in Roscommon last Monday, when I stood in that mart, and in Cashel last Saturday. In Tipperary, I met farmers who said that store...