Results 541-560 of 1,886 for speaker:Fergal Browne

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: The difficulty which the Opposition has is that it is working in the dark. There have been reports of leaks and references to the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, yet we have not seen it in full. The Minister has not released to us any available documentation. The question I would pose — I am sure it is a question which would keep Senator Dooley awake at night — concerns what happens if...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: If, for example, the individual airport boards have an area of conflict, which is quite possible, will the final arbiter be the Government or the Minister? Who will adjudicate in this instance?

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 6: In page 7, subsection (3), line 41, after "readiness" to insert "and viability". This is a straightforward amendment. Amendment No. 7 seeks in the same subsection after "airports" to insert "and subject to the companies being able to meet the requirements of section 9(4)". Section 9(4) clearly spells out the role of the new airport authorities.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: Amendment No. 9 concerns a similar matter.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: I will speak on amendment No. 8. The Minister must admit there is confusion, particularly surrounding the next nine months until the new boards are fully established. In the meantime, people will think that Dublin Airport authority is only responsible for Dublin. However, the authority will have a say in the business of Cork and Shannon authorities. With hindsight, it may make more sense to...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: For once I find myself in agreement with Senator Dooley. Senator McDowell's Dublin bias is clear on this issue, which brings to mind some comments he recently made about decentralisation.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: His fingerprints are all over this amendment. It would be foolish to tie ourselves down; we should leave it to the boards to decide. We should not say Aer Rianta International or the Great Southern Hotels Group should automatically go to the Dublin Airport authority. It makes sense for people to have options. Aer Rianta International should remain in Shannon as it is based there and would be...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 14: In page 9, subsection (6), line 19, to delete "or in anticipation of". This amendment proposes to remove any vagueness about the Minister's power to give direction to Aer Rianta, or another company, about any matter relating to the restructuring. I seek the removal of the phrase "or in anticipation of" because I am concerned that the provision could be abused by...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 17: In page 9, before section 8, to insert the following new section: 9.—Within 6 weeks of the passing of this Act, the Minister shall do one or both of the following— (i) lay a Report before both Houses of the Oireachtas, or (ii) appear before an Oireachtas Committee to confirm whether the provisions of this Bill will effect events of default regarding Aer Rianta's...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: On amendment No. 17, the Minister is very vulnerable. He has not done his homework and that has been shown quite clearly. He said he has not received any correspondence indicating there is a problem but neither has he received any correspondence indicating that there is no problem and that this issue has been carefully examined. The danger is that when the Bill is passed, a problem might...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: It is worth pointing out that international lenders are involved. I accept the point made by the Minister. The bottom line is that one company owes approximately €480 million. The Minister has admitted that all three of the new airport companies will face immense challenges. In some cases they will sell off assets, in others they will buy them. A great deal of restructuring is involved and...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: The real potential victim could be the taxpayer who will have to bear the financial burden if matters go wrong. There is no doubt the creditors can be provided for. The State can bail out the companies if matters go disastrously wrong. I hope they will not. However, we have to protect the taxpayer and that is why we are pushing this amendment.

Seanad: Business of Seanad. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: I hope we will deal with my two remaining amendments before 2 p.m. In that case I will not submit any amendments on Report Stage.

Seanad: Business of Seanad. (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: Unless Committee Stage is concluded earlier.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 37: In page 15, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following subsection: "(9) Any superannuation benefits awarded to or in respect of a person who was assigned or transferred to Aer Rianta from the Department of Transport and Power under Office Notice 4/68 and the terms and conditions relating to those benefits shall not be less reasonable than the entitlements...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: Erskine Childers was involved in the negotiations at that time.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: That is usual. It is interesting to note that people who transferred to Aer Rianta were given a pension that was one eightieth of their retiring salary for each year of service and a lump sum of one thirtieth of retiring salary for each year of service. Things have changed.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: I am willing to withdraw the amendment if the Minister guarantees to return to the issue raised by myself and Senator Daly.

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: Fine Gael is concerned about this section of the Bill, and we have tabled amendment No. 43 to counteract it. We feel there is a mistake in the Bill and the amendment reads "In page 16, subsection (12), line 31, to delete "(4)" and substitute "(3)"." The main difficulty is that subsection (4) deals with worker-directors while subsection (3) deals with the pay and conditions of the chief...

Seanad: State Airports Bill 2004: Committee Stage (Resumed). (14 Jul 2004)

Fergal Browne: When I give talks in schools, I am often asked what the Seanad is about. I respond by saying that it is a safety net if things go wrong. I point out that some countries have just one parliamentary chamber, which can be good or bad, and I argue that we have two Houses of Parliament, so that if a faulty Bill is passed by the Dáil we can amend it. Similarly, if a faulty Bill is passed by the...