Results 9,661-9,680 of 26,902 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: General Scheme of a Public Sector Standards Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Can Mr. O'Keeffe elaborate on why he was not that impressed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: General Scheme of a Public Sector Standards Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: We would have no friends at all. Everybody would be running away from us.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: General Scheme of a Public Sector Standards Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: If we are aware of particular cases, can we bring them to the commission?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: General Scheme of a Public Sector Standards Bill: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Who do we actually take those cases to?

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I move amendment No. 1:In page 6, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following:“ “Stakeholder and Community Group” means a group comprising elected representatives of all bona fide harbour user groups as well as resident and community groups across the local authority area;”. I thank Deputy Fleming for tabling these amendments for me. This series of...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That would be a matter that could be discussed at council level but to be honest, we pretty much saw who most of the groups were at the An Bord Pleanála hearing. Councils get representative groups and community group, for example, involved in SPCs and they engage with them at various levels. They set criteria as to who they consider bona fide. The detail of that could be worked out at...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Absolutely.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is a good point. My reference to "bona fide" was partially in anticipation that the Minister might say that any person could call himself of herself a stakeholder. I put it in in an attempt to smooth the way for the Minister’s agreement. It is a tactical amendment.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Fine, but we are midway through the Bill’s passage through the Oireachtas. If the Minister asked me to take out the words "bona fides" to make him happy and then hammer out the finer detail of who would be the genuine stakeholders at council level, I would be very happy. The key point is that stakeholders declared their hand at the hearing. We could draw up the list quickly now.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The Minister asks a reasonable question. I am very much in favour of strengthening the powers of local authorities. Whatever authority they have, however, is limited by the money available to them, but that is a different matter. I think there was a misunderstanding in our engagement on the parliamentary question this morning and perhaps the Minister has not had much of a chance to...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: In that case, the Minister will know this because amendments Nos. 5 to 13, inclusive, have the same wording; they seek to replace every single reference to the “local authority chief executive” with the proposal that it be the elected council "in consultation with the Stakeholder and Community Group”. The amendments propose to take the decision-making process out of the...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Of course, I believe he or she should play a role, but that role should be set out by the elected members in consultation with the local community. We are all familiar with the difference between reserved and executive functions, the reserved functions being those elected councillors have in a local authority, with the executive functions being those of the unelected directors and managers....

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Absolutely. If any of the groups seeks to participate in the stakeholder group, it should have to elect people. That is why I mentioned the earlier stakeholders group, in contrast with the reality, that the former CEO handpicked the stakeholder group.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: We genuinely seem to be at cross purposes because I cannot underline strongly enough that what I am proposing - it is very clear in the wording - is vesting power in the elected members. The amendment includes the words “in consultation with”. That is what I am proposing. The Bill, largely but not exclusively, gives decision-making power to the manager, not the elected...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am sorry, but I would like to raise one other issue before the Minister replies. It is the role of primary legislation to set broad parameters. In other words, the finer detail of how the stakeholders would be decided should be agreed to by the elected members, which is what I propose. If the Minister believes from a drafting point of view that we need to slightly amend the wording to...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: If at the beginning of Committee Stage, I did not say what I have said in Dáil, let me now say that the broad thrust of the legislation represents progress. Let us not be at odds with one another because it is a welcome development that these harbours will come under the remit of local authorities. That is a step in the right direction. There is no question about that. However, I...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I know this has gone on for a long time but I would like to respond briefly as we are finishing on the stakeholders' group and will be dealing with other specific matters later. I will refer to one example in the Bill. I welcome the role councillors will have but that is if it is part of an integrated whole rather than a corporate subsidiary. In the case of Dún Laoghaire, of the two...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is no problem. I will give an example of the effect of my amendment on a specific area where currently the power is in the hands of the CEO. Section 6 deals with the temporary appointment of additional directors. In the Bill, as drafted, the Minister may in respect of the company appoint additional directors and the Minister may consult the chief executive of the local authority. I...

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: We can have the vote on Report Stage because I know the Minister is going to take on board what I have said.

Committee on Transport and Communications: Select Sub-Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: Harbours Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Nov 2015)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I move amendment No. 2:In page 8, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following:“(3) This section shall not apply to Dun Laoghaire Harbour.”. This amendment follows on from our earlier discussion. As set out by the Minister, the Bill has two options for these harbours. This amendment seeks that there would be just one option for Dún Laoghaire. The first of the two...