Results 8,061-8,080 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: To clean up the mess made by Fianna Fáil.

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: He needs a script.

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Could we get on to the script, Joe?

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: He could be a leader soon.

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Deputy is losing his touch. He is all over the shop.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I regret I cannot take on board the Deputy's amendment. I will reiterate some points we have already discussed about the Bill's origins. Under section 11 of the Communications Regulation Act 2002, the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg, is statutorily independent in the exercise of its functions. A regulator independent of postal service providers is an explicit requirement of...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: In certain circumstances.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with the spirit of the amendments but I am advised by the Parliamentary Counsel that there is no requirement or necessity to put this into primary legislation because the cornerstone of the Bill is the universal service obligation, which is the real tacit recognition of the importance of the role of the postal service. I fully acknowledge the social function of the postal service and...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Deputy cannot have it both ways. Either we set up a statutorily independent regulator or we do not. The requirement behind this is that An Post is a State-owned postal company and we must separate regulation from ownership. Either he accepts that basic principle or not but he cannot argue for both sides. I accept the importance of the social role of the postal service in Ireland. As...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I agree with Deputy Ferris that the service provided by An Post across the country is very important and is appreciated by the people of Ireland. I have no doubt about that. The universal service obligation enshrined in this legislation will protect that important aspect of An Post. Deputy Joan Collins quoted an example from Holland, but I have no intention - neither does the Government -...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I have made a number of concessions to him to put into the Bill where the Minister's express consent is required, for example, if there was any question of ComReg trying to shut down the universal service obligation after seven years. This was the situation in the Bill when I inherited it from Deputy Ó Cuív's party. The Minister can intervene and say "Sorry, we are not wearing that." The...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I cannot and would not be able to get the kind of derogation Deputy Joan Collins advocates. It is not consistent with the directive which has been passed. It is not the intention of this Government to privatise An Post. An Post is a State company and it has a place of affection in the hearts of most people. The universal service obligation remains and we do not intend to go down the...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I accept there is a social dimension, interaction, gossip and all the rest associated with the postman when he calls. I acknowledge all of that but the postman's job is to deliver the post, not to be a social worker or to collect the messages. If he can do all those things as well, that is a matter for the postal manager, but I have no objection. The postman is not a multi-tasker like...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: That is true. To return to the amendment, Deputy Ó Cuív knows as well as I do that fashion changes. Some of things that were everyday occurrences in rural Ireland 30 years ago have changed dramatically. He knows that the marketplace here will change as well. He knows that change is coming down the tracks at the post office everyday and that it is in the interests of the postal service...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I do not know if it is Deputy Ó Cuív's long years in government that has made him so cynical of all exchanges that take place between the elected Oireachtas and institutions established by the Oireachtas. I have not got that cynical yet. I believe ComReg takes into account the sensible views of Oireachtas Éireann and sensible views argued with it by other interests. Why would ComReg...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: The Deputy is beginning to sound like Deputy Higgins.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: Only since the Deputy went into opposition.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I have repeated ad nauseam that the Government has no intention of privatising An Post. Deputy Healy-Rae is correct about the experience of Telecom Éireann, now Eircom, and the asset stripping which resulted in a legacy of under-investment in the network. However, he is wrong to make a comparison with the provision before us. The regulator or competition was not at fault in the case of...

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: If Deputy Shane Ross and a couple of others were stripped out, there would be a powerful left contingent in the House if this Government was replaced any time soon.

Communications Regulation (Postal Services) Bill 2010 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Jul 2011)

Pat Rabbitte: I will protect An Post while I am here. I have every confidence that the left turn being taken on the benches opposite will protect it if there is a change in the Government. The effect of the amendments before the House would be to require the consent of the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources with regard to any determination made by ComReg allowing the designated...