Results 521-540 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: This morning on "Morning Ireland", there was a rather strange discussion in which it transpired that several thousand of those who have paid the household charge are receiving demands to pay it. No records seem to be kept as to who has paid. This is a serious point because tax policy should differentiate between the compliant and non-compliant. We are all here because of the compliant...

Seanad: Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union: Statements (25 Oct 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. It is a genuine pleasure when she attends the House to discuss the European project. I applaud her work in that regard. I welcome the Taoiseach's award as the European Person of the Year. What distinguishes him from the other Europeans in the competition is that he is not a waffler. In comparison, Brussels and Frankfurt are filled to the roof with waffle,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I shall try to use even less time. The document with which we have been supplied indicates that the underlying loss between December 2011 and June 2012 increased from €722 million to €907 million, a rise of 24%. Therefore, the most recent figures supplied to the committee indicate that the position on the investment the taxpayer made - involuntarily - in September 2008 has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: The point I want to make is that the figure is increasing. Unlike the statements to which I refer on pages 8 and 13, when one reaches page 26, one realises that the amount rose by €77 million. The overall performance of the bank is also in decline and that is of concern to the people who made the investment, particularly in the context of the fact that the underlying loss increased...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: Will Mr. Boucher comment on the public interest directors at the bank? How much are these individuals paid? Do they make any contribution at all to solving the problems we are discussing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: No, I am finished with my questions. I am just listening for answers.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I take it that the performance of the bank is declining, as shown on page 8, that the underlying losses are up to €907 million from €722 million and that the impairment charges are rising, as shown on page 26. Will Mr. Boucher confirm the figures?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: Then how come they go up by €77 million when one goes to page 26?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Discussion with Bank of Ireland (1 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: This is exactly the half year period, H1 201 2 and H1 201 1. It went from €901 million to €978 million. I presume the numbers Mr. Boucher has supplied to us are correct.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I echo the Leader's sentiments about the talk to be given in the House tomorrow by Professor Christopher Pissarides. He will be the first Nobel laureate to address the House since W. B. Yeats. He is from the small island of Cyprus and has obviously acquired sufficient standing in his subject to be awarded the Nobel Prize. He will talk about youth employment and afterwards the young people...

Seanad: Social Welfare Appeals System: Motion (7 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, referred to social welfare appeals service through a human rights lens. There is another lens, the economic one. Over 80% of public expenditure comes from health, education and welfare. We have an impossible borrowing situation which bankers and others account for too, I accept. However, we cannot solve this problem by the nomenclature of...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I echo what Senator Conway said about the need for a debate and a report on banking in Ireland. Financial scandals are revealed on a daily basis such as Anglo Irish Bank today and AIB and the people who so little impressed the finance committee last week. Massive pensions are being paid to the people who, as Deputy Olivia Mitchell said on radio this morning, brought this country to ruin. I...

Seanad: Youth Unemployment and Public Policy: Address by Professor Christopher Pissarides (Resumed) (8 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome Professor Pissarides and compliment him on winning the Nobel Prize having grown up on the island of Cyprus and then gone to the University of Essex and the London School of Economics. What he said to us about the lost generation will certainly stop us in our tracks as we try to deal with the problem of youth unemployment throughout Europe. This is not the only honour for the...

Seanad: Public Expenditure and Reform: Statements (8 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and thank him for his speech. As was the case with the discussion on the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012, I assure him of the support of this side of the House for his vital reform agenda. The Minister referred to sick leave arrangements. ISME provided information to the effect that three days per year are lost in small enterprises and six in medium enterprises...

Seanad: Public Expenditure and Reform: Statements (8 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: The Minister is following a distinguished tradition. I refer to Professor Christopher Pissarides from Cyprus and the London School of Economics. He had interesting ideas. We must send the Minister the transcript of what he said on labour market interventions. He suggested that social welfare payments should be accompanied by something other than just money. Possible options are half-time...

Seanad: Matter raised under Standing Order 30 (8 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I wish to share time with Senator Cullinane, if possible.

Seanad: Matter raised under Standing Order 30 (8 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I certainly will use less time than that. I welcome the Minister to the House and commend her on the calm manner in which she has conducted this campaign. She has been a model to us all and has reached out to many people. As I understand it, and I thank Senator Bacik for her legal exposition, the judgment does not affect the substantive issue and I urge people to vote "Yes" for this...

Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State and he always has our good wishes in the reforms he is trying to implement. In response to the speech of the Minister of State, we have some growth but GNP was down 2.5% in 2011. The domestic economy remains in trouble, as the Minister of State knows. He also referred to tax receipts having increased by 6.3% in the year end to October. It may be higher as...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (14 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and thank him for his kind remarks about the previous Fiscal Responsibility (Statement) Bill. The remarks are appreciated. I thank the Minister for gracing an international economics conference with this presence during the summer. One of the questions that arose was what was happening to the Munster rugby team. The Minister's reply was that they are rebuilding and...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I commend the Taoiseach for attending the Remembrance Day commemoration in Enniskillen on Sunday, the Tánaiste for attending a similar commemoration in Belfast, and the Minister, Deputy Deenihan, for attending the one in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin. We wish well all those who seek to reconcile the traditions on this island. Sometimes the reconciliation may be much less than we think....