Results 821-840 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Seanad Electoral Reform Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: For shame.

Seanad: Seanad Electoral Reform Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Seanad Electoral Reform Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: In the one year and nine months I have been here I have met no one whom I would wish to exclude from the Oireachtas. Therefore, I cannot understand the mentality of the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste who wish to get rid of all 60 people in the room.

Seanad: Seanad Electoral Reform Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: They really do not know what is going on. Let us consider the Order Paper. Some two thirds of the items were put down by Members and only one third by the Government. We need more scrutiny and checks and balances, especially given what happened to the country between 2008 and 2010. It was not the fault of Senators or Dáil backbenchers - yesterday, we discussed getting rid of or...

Seanad: Seanad Electoral Reform Bill 2013: Second Stage (6 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: It portrays an arrogance by both gentlemen to wish to abolish the assembly which is there to ensure that they perform efficiently. I am unsure what has happened in the period that has been described. Senator Bradford informed us that until quite recently the Taoiseach had a different view of this House. He appointed 11 brilliant people who are among the leaders in the House. Why has he...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: This afternoon in Helen's Bay, County Down, the funeral will take place of Sir George Quigley. He was one of the finest public servants of the island of Ireland that one could find in either jurisdiction. He was Permanent Secretary at the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland. He chaired the review of the Parades Commission between 2001-02 which was a notable contribution...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (7 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. It is always a pleasure when he comes to the House to discuss education matters and today is no exception. I was delighted when he referred to discussions in the other House and it is good that my colleagues here have expressed their support for the Bill. There will be 21 members on an education and training board -12 local authority representatives, two staff...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (7 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister. As Easter approaches and the Minister must run the gauntlet at various teacher conferences, are two teachers out of 21 members enough? I put that forward as a proposition because there is a level of alienation. By the way, I have admired Ministers from all parties who have run that gauntlet each Easter. I do not know if I would volunteer to do it. Teachers might not...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (7 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: It was a strange sort of legacy and I am delighted to see the Minister is correcting it. It seems to be an industrial relations practice from Noah's Ark. The National Development Finance Agency is coming in on the Minister's ambitious schools building programme and the former VECs will become involved in primary education where the Minister sees a gap. As he pointed out, we face such an...

Seanad: Education and Training Boards Bill 2012: Second Stage (7 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: It may be a donation from people from whom one would prefer not to get one. However, this could be good news, so let us act quickly, having checked it out appropriately. I join with other Senators in commending the Minister on his reforms. What he is trying to do in education is so vital that he will have the support of this House which he also had in the other one.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: In pages 1, 8 and 26 of the Irish Independent today, there is a long series of articles on education. One is entitled "CAO shake-up to take heat out of points race". The CAO is simply a device by which a scarce number of university places are allocated among people about to sit the leaving certificate examination, and that is all it is. The article states, "The initial step will be a...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. I regret any reduction in the number of Deputies because when we were trying to resolve the problems of the country between 2008 and 2010, reducing the number of backbenchers would not have made any difference. We have much bigger problems of lobbying, the control of banks and so on. I would not have added to the democratic deficit but I accept what the Minister is...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Dáil Constituencies) Bill 2012: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the clarification by the chief executive of PayPal of comments referred to here yesterday about the unsuitability of many young Irish people for employment. The issue was a matter of concern to us. The comments have been clarified. The person concerned employs 1,800 people, 60% of whom are non-graduates which is good because that is where most of the unemployment lies. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: Or remuneration of bankers.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: [Seanad Bill Amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (13 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I agree with what Senator Keane and others have said. I hope that the borrowing will be accompanied by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform having a much stricter regime than in the past on capital expenditure, including cost-benefit analysis not done by the promoters, but done independently. It was not just rescuing banks that got us into...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: [Seanad Bill Amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (13 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: We still need to flesh out what will be the free allowance and the price. Some people's consumption could be so small that metering in order to reduce consumption would yield no return on the meter. Unless we know what economists call price elasticity, demand is impossible to calculate. The Minister of State referred to area meters, meaning we could locate leaks to a certain part of a...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: [Seanad Bill Amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (13 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: There was a question on-----

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2013: [Seanad Bill Amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (13 Mar 2013)

Sean Barrett: I was responding to the Minister of State's kind invitation to the question whether he had answered all the questions. I was going to ask if he had any idea on the price? I thank the Cathaoirleach for his indulgence.