Results 1,281-1,300 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne
- Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (18 Jan 2012)
Thomas Byrne: There are two debates, one dealing with electricity infrastructure and another dealing with Government policy and backbencher action. Why is one thing being said in Dublin and another in local areas?
- Seanad: Education (Amendment) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (31 Jan 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I thank the Minister for accepting some of the amendments tabled. It is probably the first time it has happened in this Seanad. It is welcome and constructive. I wish to make a point about a teacher who is pregnant at the time she is dismissed. The Unfair Dismissals Acts apply in cases where someone has been employed for less than a year implying that legal issues could arise if a person...
- Seanad: Official Engagements (31 Jan 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Gabhaim buÃochas as an deis seo a labhairt ar an dÃospóireacht seo anocht. I will be brief and, with some leeway from the Cathaoirleach, will contribute again when the Minister concludes. It was suggested to me locally, including at a meeting at which Government Deputies were present, that as a matter of policy the Minister for Education and Skills did not visit schools and that as...
- Seanad: Official Engagements (31 Jan 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I note the Minister's comments. However, what he said makes liars of various rural Deputies who say, when requests are made indirectly through them, that the Minister does not visit schools. I accept the Minister's statement that he does visit schools and that he has not visited as many as he would like. I put it to him that it is crucial that he visits a reasonable number of schools and...
- Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: That is what negotiations are for.
- Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Fine Gael made plenty of allegations when it was in opposition.
- Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Fine Gael claimed that one of the Anglo ten was in the Cabinet.
- Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: People want a referendum.
- Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I endorse Senator Mark Daly's proposal of last week in regard to Article 27 of the Constitution. I note the Technical Group has jumped on that band wagon today. However, it is important to credit Senator Daly with that proposal. I speak as someone who, contrary to what Senator Colm Burke said, actively canvassed for a "Yes" vote in every European referendum, including before I became...
- Seanad: Order of Business (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: It will not be decided by the Attorney General.
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: This is a pointless amendment. In one sense it is good because it means the local authority is not doubling on information in that it is already on the public record. If one fails to comply with the legislation, if one commits the crime of adversely affecting the countryside or places of special interest, which is a crime under the legislation, in operating one's domestic waste water...
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: It is a crime.
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The Bill provides that the owner of a premises connected to a domestic waste water treatment system shall ensure the system does not constitute a risk to public health or the environment and, in particular, does not adversely affect the countryside. If one adversely affects the countryside in the operation of one's system, one is guilty of a crime. One's prosecution will be recorded as part...
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: People were complaining that I was not pushing this issue even more than I have been.
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: They were complaining that I was not pushing the issue.
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: You will tell me everything. It was all explained this morning. We have made two points on this - there is no grant scheme and the standards are very unclear and broad.
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: It is. The Oireachtas Library and Research Service, which is independent of all parties and is to be complimented, states in its document that this is liable to cost householders thousands of euro.
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Is the Minister saying the service did not understand this?
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The Minister has said that the service does not know the standards. Does he suggest that the service is wrong? That is one of the key problems with this. The Oireachtas Library and Research Service is independent of all of us and of the Government, and thank God for it. It has stated that this legislation could cost householders thousands, but the Minister and his party continue to ignore...
- Seanad: Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (1 Feb 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Absolutely, if they pollute.