Results 1,041-1,060 of 2,476 for speaker:Malcolm Byrne

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Governance and Related Issues in Cycling Ireland: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank all the witnesses and particularly Dr. Daly and Ms Kerrane. I am very conscious that becoming volunteer members of a board, particularly during a difficult transition period, must be acknowledged. It should be acknowledged that Cycling Ireland is more than just the board. It is about the members and cyclists on the ground. The good work by all the volunteers in the country must be...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Governance and Related Issues in Cycling Ireland: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: I appreciate the matter is out of Sport Ireland's hands.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Governance and Related Issues in Cycling Ireland: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: Let us just say there is no other occasion in the near future where we are expecting another national governing body to be before the committee.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Governance and Related Issues in Cycling Ireland: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: Of course. Mr. McDermott is aware there is a seriousness about the issues which happened at Cycling Ireland and certainly at the IABA. There are ongoing issues in respect of addressing gender balance and other matters at governing body level. In terms of specific serious concerns-----

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Governance and Related Issues in Cycling Ireland: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: With the Chair's indulgence, I have one further question. Contrasting Cycling Ireland with the IABA, in Cycling Ireland we had a board which voluntarily stepped aside. Excellent volunteers like Dr. Tom Daly and Ms Helen Kerrane stepped up to the mark. As is clear from the weekend, the outgoing IABA board has lost the confidence of the clubs and members. It certainly arguable and our...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Governance and Related Issues in Cycling Ireland: Discussion (13 Jul 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: I was comparing and contrasting, Vice Chairman.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: The Leader will be aware that the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, has published another report raising concerns about poor air quality in Ireland. We have known for quite some time that the poor air quality in many of our communities potentially contributes to up to 1,300 premature deaths in Ireland. In addition to poor air quality resulting in premature deaths, there are certain...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: Although amendment No. 54a is mine, I will not press it. It concerns the nature of the membership of an t-údarás. The key point is that an t-údarás is not a representative body in the sense of people being drawn from different sections, but it is important that those who sit around the table have a specific knowledge of a range of fields relating to education. In that...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: I do not get the point of amendment No. 60, in particular. The Bill clearly proposes that the chief executive will be appointed by the board following the usual process that will come through the Public Appointments Service. If we inserted that amendment, it would exclude anyone who, in the preceding three years, had been directly employed by the Government or a Minister thereof....

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: Universities are obliged to adhere to all terms of the GDPR in any event, so these amendments will not be relevant.

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: I am tempted to shout "bingo".

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) (20 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: I have some sympathy for the proposal by Senator Clonan. I would almost have preferred if the wording of the amendment stated "students of the institution", which would have incorporated students' unions. The way that the provision is phrased is "students or the students' unions". My fear is that if a governing body or the management of the institution interpreted it in a particular way,...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Rail Network (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: Yes. The Minister of State knows I have enormous respect for her work but I am rather worried that she is the one who is in here answering a question on transport. We fear and already suspect that the answer may contain the same level of obfuscation to which our colleague referred. We are talking about the east coast railway that runs from Dublin to Rosslare and which runs through the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Rail Network (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: We are going to share the response time. It is a little more hopeful, given that there is work being done and at least a plan has been put in place but, before anything else, we must ensure there is funding for the plan. It is about being able to guarantee commuters that we will have a rail line in place because the report this summer said the rail line may not be in existence by the end of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: As the Leas-Chathaoirleach will be aware, the budget is coming up. One issue that is of critical importance to this country's long-term social and economic development is investment in further and higher education. We know that the higher education sector has faced a funding crisis for a long period and earlier this year the Minister, Deputy Harris, quantified the scale of the need for...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: It has been lengthy. I compliment the Minister not just for coming to the Seanad to deal with the Bill. This has been a long-running process to implement these reforms - some would argue going back to the Hunt report. I thank everybody who has given input into it. I thank the Minister and his officials for their engagement. This represents a very solid framework for reform of the Higher...

Seanad: Higher Education Authority Bill 2022: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: -----and also for higher education governance into the 21st century. We debated the composition of the governing authority. It is crucial that we now encourage good people to fill those positions. I thank the Minister for his leadership on this matter.

Seanad: School Transport: Motion (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister for coming to the House to discuss this. She has been discussing it from dawn to dusk, given that early this morning she was addressing this issue before the education committee. This is something that comes up as an issue at the end of every August. Some of the criticism of the Minister was rather unfair. It was interesting that at the education committee some...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: Deputy O'Sullivan hit on a lot of the points I wanted to make. For as long as I have been in politics, and I am sure for as long as the Minister has been as well, there is almost a certainty that, come the end of August, there will be problems with school transport and we will all start to receive phone calls. It is not the parents who have been granted tickets, including the concessionary...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: School Transport Issues: Engagement with Minister for Education (21 Sep 2022)

Malcolm Byrne: The challenge is that many of those who were in receipt of concessionary tickets, while they certainly welcome the reduction in fees, would have been prepared to continue to pay some sort of fee as it would still have represented a reduction. The fear is that many people may have applied for tickets simply because the service is now free. I am not discounting the fact that it is an enormous...