Results 621-640 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 4: In page 3, before section 2, to insert the following new section: The Central Bank of Ireland shall conduct an annual actuarial analysis of the health insurance market in Ireland with respect to the solvency positions of the various market participants operating within the State.My objective is to ensure the best possible choice of health insurers is made available...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: Yes. Amendment No. 20-----

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: Amendments Nos. 4 and 5 deal with the appraisals and that they should be conducted by the Central Bank. Amendment No. 20 deals with recruitment of staff to perform certain roles, that they should be qualified in insurance and the qualification should be stipulated by the head of financial regulation at the Central Bank of Ireland. This system is in breach of the European Court and our...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: We asked for an independent referee and, obviously, the Minister does not want to concede that request, given the record. It is good that Ireland should be compliant with European Union law in these matters and not further bias the market. We have the Milliman report, which has 31 pages of redactions in a total of 67 pages, and it shows repeatedly that the VHI problems are caused largely...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: That is the result that came in. It is the overwhelming rule of law in Ireland. The Chief Justice and his colleagues ruled against the Government. I gather the first set of damages amounted to ¤4 million and negotiations are taking place as to what the other damages will be for rigging the market. Let us have a debate about old people and who will or will not insure them and address it...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I am at a loss to know whether to move this amendment or not, but I wish to do so.

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: This is something we should reflect on seriously and we should, perhaps, come back to it on Report Stage. The explanatory memorandum says that section 4 removes the requirement for the Minister before making regulations to present them in draft form to be approved by the Houses of the Oireachtas. This is an important function all parliamentarians should think about. They should think about...

Seanad: Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: The penalties to be imposed on insurance companies are to include imprisonment not exceeding five years and fines of ¤50,000. I do not see the point of criminalising the independent health insurance sector, particularly as we ourselves are in breach of a European Court decision of 29 September 2011. Six years before that date we were invited by the European Commission to regularise the...

Seanad: Equal Status (Amendment) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I agree with Senator Norris is a silly Bill and I wonder what was the gender breakdown of the court that handed down the decision. Why can a woman not be more like a man? I certainly hope women cannot be more like men in the context of road safety, because their record is much better than that of men. O'Neill, Pat. The model that seems to underpin the...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State, as always. My ever-active research assistant took out the document issued by the IMF today at 5.10 p.m. In contains material in which we state we are introducing the tax on 1 July 2013 and that it will be collected centrally by the Revenue Commissioners and constitute an important and stable source of revenue. It will not be stable. Ireland and Spain...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: The Minister of State has been lobbied by various groups stating it is not. Taxation accounts for 44% of GNP while the OECD average is 41.9%. We might have had a low-tax economy in the past but the property tax is on top of an already heavily taxed population. The myth that we have a low-tax economy should be debunked. It might be nice if one's corporation tax rate is 12.5% but the rest...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I want to echo the statements of the Leader and the other speakers. I thank the Cathaoirleach and the Leader for their unfailing courtesy at all times. There may be problems in other debating chambers near here but they do not occur in this Chamber, which is a tribute to them both. I agree with everything Senator Hayden said about all of our staff. It was a momentous year, with a Nobel...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: The Minister can change her mind, for example.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: Vote against them.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: Why is it out of order?

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: We were not allowed to discuss it last night either. It is a shame that a discussion on respite care was avoided by the Minister at every opportunity. She filibustered all day yesterday and we are not allowed to discuss the issue in this House.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: That is a shame.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Fifth Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I wish to speak on the respite care grant. A special edition of the census of population reported last month that there are 187,000 carers, of whom 72,000 are men and 114,000 are women, amounting to 4.1% of the population. This number increased by 22,000, or 13%, between the 2006 census and the 2011 census. They are heavily represented in low-income areas of the country, with 5% in Mayo,...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I congratulate Senator van Turnhout.