Results 1,321-1,340 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: According to today's thejournal.ie poll, 49% of respondents want this House to be kept and 17% want it to be abolished. We have all detected this movement in recent days. We prayed and worked for it. It is happening. It is a credit to most Members of this House who believe we should be allowed to continue. I note the Taoiseach's difficulty with debating this issue. One of the solutions...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Why did it come to light in the week of this referendum? I will oppose the Order of Business unless Deputy Cannon gives a guarantee to come here and explain why he suddenly remembered this incident and who bribed him. This is a most serious charge against the Seanad designed, yet again, to destroy our credibility. I do not believe that any Member of the Seanad engaged in bribery and...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Shame.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: It is. I thank the Leader, as always, for his generosity of spirit and kindness to Members on this side of the House but it is unacceptable that the Minister of State would not to return immediately from Istanbul. We have two days to save this House and it is-----

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: It has to be.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: I second Senator van Turnhout's proposal. The civic engagement policies of the Leader are deeply appreciated outside the House if not by the leadership of his own party. He deserves credit. We need to involve civic society more. Will the Dáil shut off itself from contact with NGOs? Is that what will happen if the Seanad is abolished? To follow up on yesterday's discussion, I...

Seanad: County Enterprise Boards (Dissolution) Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. I always enjoy meeting the Minister around the House and I know that his heart is in the right place on this Bill. The Minister mentioned that there will a network of 31 LEOs across the country, so there will be a busy role for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Varadkar and I hope that he has 30 other fellows ready to assist in that task. I sat on...

Seanad: Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State, a former colleague on the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications when he was Chairman before being elevated to a ministerial post recently. It is a great pleasure and honour to second the reading of Second Stage of Senator Quinn's Bill. A problem arises when there are asset bubbles in an economy. When we get over our temporary difficulty on Friday...

Seanad: Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Shame.

Seanad: Upward Only Rent (Clauses and Reviews) Bill 2013: Second Stage (2 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: It does address the realities.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: The Senator voted the wrong way.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Last night's debate was very valuable not because some members of the Labour Party went missing or spoke in favour of but against the Bill but because of the serious issues raised therein. Property bubbles are threatening to destroy many economies worldwide. We need a system that favours entrepreneurship and enterprise over finance and banking. Many countries have been doing the exact...

Seanad: An Appreciation of the Life and Work of Seamus Heaney: Statements (3 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: We honour the man from Bellaghy, Anahorish, St. Columb's in Derry, Queen's in Belfast, Berkeley, Carysfort, Harvard and Oxford, such a distinguished career. The Minister's proposal to celebrate Seamus Heaney will, I am sure, be unanimously accepted by the Houses and people throughout the country. It is a wonderful idea. I wish it every success. It is an honour to welcome Marie here and...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: The schedule for tomorrow includes No. 2 on the Order Paper, amendments made by the Dáil to the Taxi Regulation Bill 2012. We had a very useful discussion on that legislation in this House, but I am concerned that amendment No. 71 introduces draconian regulations in regard to public bus services. These include exclusive rights-----

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank Senator Norris. My point is that it is important that we discuss these two issues separately. Today might be a little soon for that, but the fact is that proposals regarding public bus services should not be included on page 60 of a Bill dealing with the regulation of the taxi industry. There is an urgency about this issue. The last time a similar proposal was put to the House, in...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: Senators should be alerted to the fact that hidden in a Bill on taxi regulation is a draconian measure to prevent competition in the provision of public bus services.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, and thank him for his speech. The first point to make is that we are making progress. The situation remains difficult, however, and we are relying on luck that the 0.2% growth to which the Minister referred will increase to 2% next year. There are many imponderables, including what will happen in the United States and the rest of the...