Results 541-560 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Chalara fraxinea (Ash Dieback Disease): Statements (15 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I note that he said he had dealt with the challenges head on. I was trying to remember what that reminded me of and I may tell him after the debate. Our island advantage must be used and availed of. Senator Feargal Quinn lives almost on an island, a peninsula, where there are red squirrels which are not found in the rest of the country. We are protected by...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I ask the Leader to delay consideration of No. 1 with which I have serious problems. Paragraphs 49 to 52, inclusive, of the report deal with whether the majority one needs to move a private Bill through the House is 50% or 75% of the body corporate. Serious legal issues arise that must be resolved based on an earlier case. That item should not proceed today and I ask the Leader to put it...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I am asking that the matter be referred to the Leader. I might move an amendment later.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move that the item not be taken pending the reply of the Leader.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: Yes.

Seanad: Action Plan for Jobs: Statements (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Bruton, to the House. It is always great to see him here. I was involved in the Culliton report which provided previous Governments with advice on this problem. As stated by the Minister, a great deal of progress has been made. The Nobel prize winner in economics, Professor Pissarides, from Cyprus who spoke in this House recently was keen on flexible labour...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I have tabled an amendment in this group, namely, amendment No. 10, which proposes to change the timeframe from two months to one month. If it is a crisis or there is good news, why not do it quickly? That is the essence of the amendment. In general terms - I hope this does not sound demeaning - the Minister is categorised in the legislation as a kind of Goldilocks. The mixture is too...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I asked about the difference-----

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: If I read the sections correctly, which of course may not be the case - I thank the Minister of State for his earlier remarks - "shall" applies if the news is good and "may" applies if the news is bad. Should the Government not be required to announce the bad news to allow us to address the problem? I ask the Minister of State to consider this issue on Report Stage.

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 13: In page 8, subsection (4)(b), line 22, to delete ?Pact.? and substitute the following:?Pact, and the attainment and retention of fiscal responsibility and international evidence on the problem of fiscal imbalance.?.The Bill is a fiscal responsibility Bill and we have set up a fiscal council. I have a little less confidence in the bodies mentioned by the Minister...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: Given that the Minister of State did not understand the amendment, he gave a very good response.

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: His remarks were important. Ireland is not the only country in this situation. According to a book published out of the University of Cambridge last year by the retired director general of the IMF, Dr. Vito Tanzi, most countries in the world are facing debt to GDP ratios of approximately 120%, regrettably. They spent beyond their taxable capacity. They borrowed in a way that destroyed...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: Yes, it is the familiar proposal to change the response period from two months to one month. If the Government disagrees with the council, it gets two months to respond. Given that the Minister of State is already being sent out there for these great discussions - I would like to be a fly on the wall when that happens - I am really asking why the advice of the council cannot be responded to...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 17: In page 10, paragraph 1(3)(a), line 9, to delete "desirability" and substitute "requirement".As a result of all of the trouble we are in, we are now conscious of the need for competent, professional people on our boards, etc. While previously this was not the case, an attempt is now being made to try to remedy that situation, in respect of which we support the...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: We are making progress. It took from 1922 to 2010 to recruit 39 economists. That is a rate of less than one every two years. In the 23 months since publication of the relevant report in 2010, we have recruited a further 60. I compliment the Minister for Finance on bringing the number up from 39 to 99. That is progress. The people concerned should, of course, possess the relevant...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 19: In page 10, paragraph 1(4), line 18, to delete "6 months" and substitute "1 month".The Minister of State has impressed on us the importance of this body. In such circumstances, why leave positions vacant for six months? Let us bring it up to strength immediately when there is a vacancy. This is one of the many amendments I have proposed, but it is also one of the...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: No. Prior to Report Stage the Minister for Finance might consider reducing the period to three months. I accept that he should be in a position to survey the field of those suitable to fill vacancies. We must stress the importance of the council.

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 20: In page 15, paragraph 11(2), line 8, after "chairperson" to insert "and members".All of the members of the council are obliged to appear before the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform. That is both stimulating and useful and all of the members of the joint committee appreciate it. Why not proceed in the same way? The council is a collegiate...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: I accept what the Minister of State has said, but the Chairman of the committee does not have to ask them and they do not have to come. If the existing wording stands then only the chairperson will appear. I do not know whether anyone will look back and say the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, said all the council members ought to appear even though the Bill states it is just the...

Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 Nov 2012)

Sean Barrett: The current practice is that all of the members come and they are all valued. It is an excellent council. The Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, was the previous Chairman of the committee and Deputy Ciarán Lynch is the current Chairman. They are valued, but I do not like routing knowledge through one person. It is a model which in education leads to all sorts of trouble. One gets the...