Results 801-820 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (21 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: The number of Members of the Dáil has a direct impact on the layout of constituencies, a matter which gives rise to debate. In this regard, I return to the important issue of county boundaries. The Minister of State mentioned the constituencies of Westmeath and Meath West. After 2002 there was the ludicrous decision to include part of County Westmeath in the constituency of Meath West...

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: How can we justify spending €50 to spend a penny?

Seanad: Order of Business. (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I join in the congratulations offered to the Government and European leaders for the interest rate reduction. It deserves some nitpicking and we will have the opportunity to do so later. It is a good deal and it is good news for the country that the interest rate has been substantially reduced. However, further challenges remain. We await the decision on charging ordinary folk €100 per...

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011 [Dáil]: Second Stage (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It seems that every time a Minister comes to this House, he or she is announcing another U-turn in Fine Gael and Labour Party policy. Now that they feel they are safe in government, they are rearranging their objectives. It is ironic that in the last week of the Dáil before the summer break in July 2007, a Fine Gael Private Members' motion condemned incineration and called on the...

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011 [Dáil]: Second Stage (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It was not. It was the Minister, Deputy Brendan Howlin, in 1996.

Seanad: Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011 [Dáil]: Second Stage (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: That is what will happen.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2011: Second Stage. (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: We on this side of the House are pleased that the Government has brought forward, relatively quickly, a Bill which was conceived by the former Minister, Dermot Ahern, who took a tough approach to crime and was always willing to look at new ways of dealing with it. It is a credit to the current Minister, Deputy Shatter, that he has come forward with the same type of idealism and willingness...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: The Bill will have the support of the Fianna Fáil Party because as the Minister acknowledged it is another Bill off the Fianna Fáil shelf. It is a good Bill and we want to see it passed as soon as possible. The Bill makes it a requirement for judges to consider community service orders as an alternative to prison sentences for minor offences. The previous Government, whom I supported,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Community Service) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (26 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: No. The Bill is practically identical to our one with the exception of the six months. This was put forward in the programme for Government and we support this aspect of it. We support the Bill because it will encourage greater use of community service orders and will provide reparations to the community in the form of work for the community. It will result in financial savings which are...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I am delighted the Family Home Bill, in my name and that of Senator Marc MacSharry, is on the Order Paper and listed for debate on Second Stage. If Senators have any doubt about it, they should contact FLAC which has provided briefing notes for a number of Senators on the Government side. Its comments on the Bill are generally favourable and while it has raised some issues about it, these...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I am and asking that the matter to be examined again. There is an expectation that property owners will pay the charge in respect of a rented house, but that is not true if one considers the standard letting agreement, under which the tenant is usually liable for any current or future local authority rates or taxes on property. I suspect no owner will allow a tenant to get away with not...

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: Where did all the other votes come from?

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I hope Senators have had the opportunity to read the e-mail sent to them by Mr. David Hall of the New Beginning group which was very successful this week on behalf of some of its clients and which has adopted a very positive approach to the Bill. Ms Noeline Blackwell from the Free Legal Advice Centres has corresponded with certain Senators on the Bill and is adopting a broad and positive...

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: I wish to comment briefly on section 7 which provides for orders for possession in certain limited cases, including where the mortgagor refuses to co-operate-----

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: May I finish the point I wish to make?

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: The limited cases also include where the borrower has perpetrated a fraud on the bank without the knowledge of the bank and where the borrower has fundamentally breached the terms and conditions laid down. Paragraph (d) relates to trophy homes which could be repossessed if there was an alternative available or if a local authority tenancy was available.

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: The Minister of State can just hand around his speaking notes.

Seanad: Family Home Bill 2011: Second Stage (27 Jul 2011)

Thomas Byrne: That is a statutory process. That is the way it works.

Seanad: Order of Business. (14 Sep 2011)

Thomas Byrne: It is the same as last year.

Seanad: Innovation at the Heart of the Jobs Challenge: Statements (14 Sep 2011)

Thomas Byrne: On the subject of universities, Waterford should be careful about what it wishes for because changing the name of Waterford Institute of Technology to Waterford University could become a joke. As the Minister outlined, the city would be better off working with what it has and trying to improve it. I would, therefore, be careful in that regard. The Government's jobs initiative has one...