Results 8,361-8,380 of 26,901 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Is that for the entire co-operative?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is 15 chapters done by 15 different groups.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: To be honest, the witnesses convinced me of their case even before they came in. I am curious about the rationale behind this because it is just bizarre, absurd and shocking as far as I can see. It is bad enough wanting to privatise water and housing let alone privatise community and voluntary services that provide services to approximately 2 million people a year, according to one of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Will the delegates speak about the experience in England where problems have emerged with this approach?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The 15 organisations represented by the co-operative receive €1.3 million between them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I ask the delegates to elaborate on what the organisations do. It is a tiny amount of money when divided between 15 organisations which probably act as the glue holding together some of the most disadvantaged communities in this city by providing an opportunity for people to re-engage with society. They appear to offer incredibly good value for money, but I imagine they are massively under...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: With how many people do they deal on an annual basis?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Most of the organisations were established by people who had a particular concern for these communities and issues.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: They may now be taken over by commercial interests with absolutely no connection with the people or their community.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The official response from the Government is that this is a legal matter related to EU directives, but the delegates have presented evidence supporting their claim that such is not the case. At no point has anybody in the Government come forward to say there is a political rationale behind the proposal.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Tendering of the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme: Discussion (28 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Our job is to smoke out the contradiction.

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 3. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources his views that we must significantly expand the number of district energy schemes and co-ops generating renewable energy as a means to developing sustainable energy and creating employment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3959/15]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Following on from some of the Minister's earlier comments and the discussions we had during our previous session in this House, and given the concern about the focus on big industrial wind turbine projects, the Minister stated that we needed to explore alternatives and that the Government was keen to do this. What sort of focus is the Government intending to put on smaller-scale district...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Can the Minister be more specific about when be believes this will happen? I was looking over the programme for Government, which was written in 2011. It states: "We will double funding for home energy efficiency and renewable energy programmes..." I have tabled a question on the rolling out of the pay-as-you-save retrofitting scheme. Again, the programme states: "We will work to promote...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Renewable Energy Projects (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: A total of €335 million per year comes from the public service obligation levy, which is supposed to be focused on developing renewable energy. It would be interesting to see a breakdown and to discover exactly where it is going and the extent to which it is going to local projects or smaller-scale community-based projects, co-operatives and so on. I welcome the fact that the...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 5. To ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources the input he had into the climate action and low carbon energy Bill; if he or his Department will be represented on the expert advisory council; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3960/15]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: There was quite an extensive debate about the climate action and low carbon energy Bill in the House this week. The response to that Bill from environmental organisations has been very critical, for two primary reasons. One is that it fails to bring in binding targets and the other relates to concerns about the independence of the advisory council that would advise the Government on...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The fact that it is under one Department is almost by the by. In this area, more than most, we need joined-up thinking between a number of Departments. Underlying some of the concerns about the failure of the Bill to establish binding targets and concerns about the lack of independence of the advisory body is a belief that there may be a tension between certain interests, possibly within...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Climate Change Policy (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: There is concern that the permanent members of this advisory body are all from State agencies - there are no permanent positions for particular environmental interests - but, to cut a long story short, and it has been a theme in many of the questions I have put to the Minister recently, there is also concern that there has been a sort of single focus in terms of producing renewable energy....

Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: For the 10,000 or so women who went through the Magdalen laundries, nothing we can do can undo the trauma and suffering they were put through or can undo the abuse, abandonment, exploitation and cruelty that was visited on them. Many of them are dead and will never see justice, their lives robbed almost entirely from them. The vast majority of those who still survive, most of whom are over...