Results 661-680 of 2,017 for speaker:Paul Bradford

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I referred to a time limit earlier. I innocently proposed a time limit or an aspiration in that regard. I take the Minister of State's comment as being genuine in the sense that he does not want to set a very precise limit or demand. Is there some space in between to allow us to aspire to progress? To say that it will be done as soon as practicable sounds fine, but we need to reflect upon...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I acknowledge and respect the Minister of State's response to my query, which was not particularly well researched or thought out. I was interested that the Minister of State said he would be concerned about the danger of drawing staff away from the work of child protection and welfare towards the assessment side of their duties. Therein lies the difficulty from a work and staff point of...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I move amendment No. 37: In page 34, subsection (1)(b), line 21, to delete "12 months" and substitute "24 months". Senator Fitzgerald advises me that the amendment arises from suggestions by the IAA. The argument is made that the waiting times for referrals increase partly in line with increased regulation and the growth of compliance with The Hague Convention. We should be mindful that...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: They were taking liberties.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I move amendment No. 40: In page 37, line 29, after "affidavit" to insert ", or a combination of both". I await the Minister of State's response.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: Will the Minister of State give a layman's explanation of this section? Is it purely of an interpretative nature?

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I do not in any way have the expertise, the knowledge or the access to the fine legal tomes as has Senator Bacik. I raised this matter on Second Stage. I am far removed from professional expertise in law and I thought this section was very new whereas it is a transposition of the 1998 Bill, if I am correct. Has the Minister of State any indication as to the number of adoption orders which...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I wish to raise a matter relating to carers, which I have raised in the House on many previous occasions. I would like the Leader to organise at the earliest opportunity with the appropriate Minister a debate on carers, the rules governing carer's allowance and what possible further assistance we can give to the people providing full-time care and attention to elderly persons in our...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: As a society, we must aspire to allowing the maximum number of people remain in their own homes and communities. They are not second-class citizens and that is not a second-class system of care.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: It can only come about through changes to schemes such as the carer's allowance. I hope that even in these hard-pressed financial times we will respond to groups such as the Carers Association because the way we respond to our elderly and to the people providing full-time care in the home and the community speaks volumes as to where we are and more important where we are going as a society.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: While I note the concerns of Senator Ellis about the telecommunications strategy, I remind him that only last night in the House the Government side proposed a motion congratulating the Government on its strategy.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: Will the Leader arrange an urgent debate, no later than next week, on the collapsing state of the dairy industry? My party leader, Senator Fitzgerald, spoke about job losses and the need for job creation and protection. It has been the tradition of rural Ireland that thousands of people have been employed, directly or indirectly, in the dairy industry. As we speak, people purchasing milk...

Seanad: Forthcoming Budget: Statements (26 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I am glad to have an opportunity to say a few words on this important issue. I appreciate that the other House dealt with the pre-budget statements yesterday, but very valid debate on economic matters takes place in this particular political arena. I am sure the Minister of State will find some ideas of interest. I concur with some of the concluding remarks of Senator Butler. His comments...

Seanad: Community Development. (26 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I am grateful that the Minister of State has come into the House to respond to my representation on behalf of the Castlelyons Community Council in Cork, which has made an application for grant aid under the voluntary housing scheme. To assist the elderly in the area, Castlelyons Community Council, which is a long established and very effective community council in east Cork, decided some...

Seanad: Community Development. (26 Mar 2009)

Paul Bradford: I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I am somewhat consoled by his statement that the project has not been refused. Let us suppose the negotiations between the Department and the housing body involved, namely Castlelyons Community Council, result in the ability of the community council to respond favourably to the new procurement contract system. If the documentation is resupplied...

Seanad: Economic and Recovery Authority: Motion (1 Apr 2009)

Paul Bradford: He lost that election.

Seanad: Economic and Recovery Authority: Motion (1 Apr 2009)

Paul Bradford: I support the motion proposed by my colleague, Senator John Paul Phelan. I thank him for bringing it forward for debate. I also thank and congratulate my Cork colleague, Deputy Coveney, on putting so much work into this Fine Gael policy, which was launched last week and is a major step forward in the sense of an Opposition party presenting a series of options that are well thought out,...

Seanad: Appointments to State Agencies and Public Bodies: Motion (8 Apr 2009)

Paul Bradford: I thank the Green Party for tabling this important motion for debate. The political process is such that I will be supporting the Fine Gael amendment but if we are fair and honest we must concede that the gulf between the motion and the amendment is not the widest to be bridged in politics. The Fine Gael amendment, which derives from our Public Appointments Transparency Bill of last year,...

Seanad: Supplementary Budget Statement 2009: Statements (9 Apr 2009)

Paul Bradford: I am glad to have the opportunity to speak in this very important debate. We have had several discussions on budgetary policy, on the economy and on the state of the country in recent months and I hope on each and every one of those occasions I spoke in a positive fashion. I outlined my hope and my desire to see the Government bringing in a financial statement or a budget that would work...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2009)

Paul Bradford: I welcome the Minister to the House once again. Dealing with the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill usually gives the opportunity not simply to reflect on the matters contained in the Bill but also to discuss some of the issues affecting the Department of Social and Family Affairs that need urgent consideration. I appreciate the very difficult economic times in which we find ourselves. The...