Results 1,341-1,360 of 4,399 for speaker:Martin Browne

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petitions on Unauthorised Developments (9 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: That is agreed. The next petition is No. 38/2021 calling for an increase in the upper age limit for joining the Army. The petitioner is Mr. David Lawrence. The recommendation is that the correspondence from the Department of Defence be forwarded to Mr. Lawrence for comment. If members do not have any views on this, I will take it that it is agreed. The next petition is No. 42/2021. It...

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petitions on Unauthorised Developments (9 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: It was agreed yesterday that if there is not a satisfactory outcome from the next meeting of the Joint Committee on Health then this committee will revisit the issue at its meeting in January 2022.

Committee on Public Petitions: Consideration of Public Petitions on Unauthorised Developments (9 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I thank the Deputy for those remarks, with which I fully agree. The volume of work that goes on behind the scenes by the secretariat and the case managers is unbelievable. Well done to them all. I also thank everyone for their participation in meetings of this committee over the past 12 months. This is our last meeting before Christmas. I wish everyone a happy Christmas, including...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I do not have a copy of the Bill to hand, so the Chairman might stop me if I am out of order. At their appearance before the committee, the representatives of fur farmers claimed that two of every three farms have asbestos in their buildings. At that time, we were told the Department was considering putting a cap of €50 per square metre on the compensation. Is it sticking to that...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: During their appearance at the committee the farmers claimed two of the three farms had asbestos in their buildings. At the time of the committee's discussions, we were told the Department was looking to cap that at €50 per square metre. Will the Department confirm whether it is sticking to that figure and if the additional costs involved in asbestos removal, transportation and...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: Is the Department sticking to the figure of €50 per square metre? Who has decided on that? When the fur farmers were before the committee there was a difference of opinion between the Department and the farmers on how the compensation scheme would be designed. The farmers were saying we needed to factor in the dip in the market the stakeholders were claiming they had experienced in...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I hear what the Minister is saying about enticing new people into the business. The Minister of State, Senator Hackett, stated one of the purposes is to entice farmers into forestry. If one is not communicating with anyone in any sector, it is next to impossible to build up the confidence that would make them to do as desired. Like other members of the committee, I must point out my...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: It is not me who is calling it cosmetic or landscaping; it is members of the sector. I have no reason to doubt what the Minister is saying, but I am not the one who is planting and the Minister is not trying to entice me. The people he is trying to entice have fears and concerns over not having been listened to before and the effort to introduce the measure in the way it is now being...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I have two quick questions. One is from earlier. The Minister will forgive me if he answered it. If a farmer takes up this scheme, is that land going to be restricted to forestry into the future?

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I ask that the Minister does so. I do not want to keep harking back to what has gone on but does he think there is going to be an appetite to go through these various assessments, given the small scale of the land involved? The lack of consultation with the Department is a complaint that has been raised repeatedly at the committee. Will there be an appetite for farmers to take up such a...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Public Sector Pensions (15 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: 3. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his attention has been drawn to the fact that some ESB retirees with pensions through the superannuation scheme have not received an increase in pension rates since 2009. [62041/21]

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Road Network (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: 77. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport his views on the necessity to ensure that the development of the proposed strategic rail freight terminal at Limerick Junction, as referred to in Rail Freight 2040, takes into account the impact this may have in terms of traffic usage on the N24; and his views on whether due consideration of this should also be taken into account in the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Insurance Industry (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: 95. To ask the Minister for Finance the status of progress made under the action plan for insurance reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [62370/21]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Insurance Industry (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I also want to wish the Minister best wishes for Christmas before we all fall out. I ask for an update on progress that has been made under the action plan for insurance reform. We hear a lot about reductions in personal injury awards. What effect is that having on insurance policies?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Insurance Industry (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: Given the 40% reduction in personal injury awards since the new personal injuries guidelines came into effect, reductions should have been passed on to members of the public and organisations and businesses that need them. Instead of reductions, the businesses in the entertainment sector are under huge pressure right now and have seen hikes in their premiums. Public liability insurance...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Insurance Industry (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I accept the Minister of State has met the insurance companies but he will forgive me if it seems like a kid-glove approach to the sector that has prevented community events from taking place during the summer and for the past 12 months. It has made driving, which is a necessity, costly. It is not a luxury anymore. The public thinks the Minister of State is being too soft on the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: 123. To ask the Minister for Finance the number of existing residential housing units that have been acquired by real estate investment trusts and Irish real estate funds in each of the years 2018 to 2020; his views on whether the tax advantages provided by both tax structures are justified with the respect to the acquisition of existing dwellings; and if he will make a statement on the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: Can the Minister of State tell this House the number of existing residential housing units that have been acquired by REITs and real estate funds in each of the years from 2018 to 2020? I would also like the Minister of State’s views on whether the tax advantages provided by the tax structures for both are justified with respect to the acquisition of existing dwellings, given the...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: The Minister of State will be aware that the CSO residential property price index report for October was published today. It shows that house prices across the State have risen by 13.5% annually. Families cannot afford to buy homes. As I have already told the House this week, there are families in Tipperary whose landlords have given them notice. They are looking to a rental market that...

Covid-19: Statements (Resumed) (16 Dec 2021)

Martin Browne: I concur with Deputy Gannon that it is unacceptable that the Minister has not stayed in the Chamber to listen to the statements. It would be remiss of me not to welcome some of the Government Deputies but they have gone again. Last week when we were in committee they did not stay in the Chamber for their slots and we missed ours. In the new year, it would be good if Government Deputies...