Results 681-700 of 904 for speaker:Ray Butler

Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2016)

Ray Butler: Good old Slab.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I did not speak yesterday even though I had prepared a speech. There was such a big crowd yesterday that I decided to hold off until today. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Irish team on its outstanding performance against Sweden on Monday in Paris and wish them continuing success in their next games. I wish to acknowledge the tens of thousands of Irish football...

Seanad: Delivering Sustainable Full Employment: Statements (16 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I wish Senator Coghlan all the best in his new position as Leas-Chathaoirleach. I congratulate the Minister on her new post. She has always been a great people person and she is the right person for the job. Rebuilding the economy to support job creation, leading to the delivery of sustainable full employment, has been a key objective of this Government and the previous one, which I had...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I want to raise the issue of commercial business rates for small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs. Recently, I was asked to attend the local courthouse to see three businesses being dragged before the court like common criminals because they were in arrears with their local authority rates.This is happening all over the country, not just in my area but in everybody's area. As the economy...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Mental Health: Statements (22 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I welcome the Minister to the Upper House and congratulate her on her appointment as the new Minister for mental health and older people. I believe she will take the necessary measures to address the ever-growing and pressing issues surrounding mental health. I am also encouraged to see that the Cabinet approved the restoration of the mental health funding for 2016. Commitment was clearly...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I congratulate the Irish football team on last night's wonderful performance which brought back memories of 22 years ago when Ray Houghton scored. We have all lost friends and family members who were around at that time and we remembered them last night because it was a joyous and wonderful occasion. Radio reports this morning suggest that Ryanair and Aer Lingus will charge €488 for...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I ask Ryanair and Aer Lingus to please reduce their prices and let the ordinary person travel to Lyons. If nothing else, we will shame them into doing so.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I congratulate the blueshirts, as I am sure would the rest of the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Of course I mean Iceland, on its brilliant win last night. I wish the team well for the future. We all have a team we can support now. We have much in common in that Iceland is also an island with a very small population.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I also welcome our team home and congratulate the Irish teams, North and South, on a wonderful tournament for the two teams. I wish to raise a recent report which indicates that €20 million is being taken out of the social welfare system each year by companies employing people on a self-employed basis. A PAYE worker pays between 14% and 15% but when one is self-employed one pays an S...

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2016: Second Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Ireland is not and has never been closed to immigrants. How could that be the case with our history? Just over 1,500 vulnerable persons from 27 different countries have resettled in 22 different communities throughout the country, as at December 2015. While the Bill before us today is clearly well intentioned and motivated by concerns we all share for those genuine applicants impacted by...

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2016: Second Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Genuine assistance for those who genuinely require it is only right, but for those willing to take advantage of the system that would be put in place if this Bill were to proceed, without being effectively scrutinised, it is absolutely wrong. It is not only our job to protect those who need it most, it is our moral duty. Immigration has an impact on every society, including both the host...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I am delighted the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, is in France this morning to mark the ceremonies to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. It was a major offensive by British and French armies on the German lines, beginning on 1 July 1916. The action continued until November 1916. Six Meath men were killed on the...

Seanad: Waste Disposal Charges: Statements (30 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Next Tuesday. Could I make a comment on the issue?

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister of State with responsibility for regional economic development, Deputy Michael Ring, to the House for a debate on retail planning in rural Ireland. We have all been on the Seanad campaign and have gone through large towns and villages in rural Ireland where we have seen many shops closed. Local planning authorities give planning permission for...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I would like if the relevant Minister would come to the House to deal with the North-South interconnector. I know that because of the oral hearing, the Minister could not answer questions in the other House. We all know Fianna Fáil and the Green Party started the North-South interconnector. When Fianna Fáil was in power, it was like "The Wombles". It was all right for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I met various Ministers during the five years I was a Member of the other House. We were told it could not be changed and that it was further down the road than any other project. That message was shoved down our throats. There are 155 pages in the programme for Government between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, which includes bogs and the butterflies. However, there is no mention of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: We do not want to leave Sinn Féin out, we want to bring it into the picture.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: It can come riding in on its high horse because we have good news. Sinn Féin is going to stop this. As result of the Brexit vote, there is a problem for the North-South pylon project. Basically, it is a designated EU project of common interest. To be awarded this status, a development must have benefits for at least two European Union states. I call on Sinn Féin - we have...