Results 1,401-1,420 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Report on Grocery Goods Sector: Motion (20 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State and like other speakers, I agreed with pretty well everything he said. When considering consumer protection in Ireland, some things about which Members were talking last night, such as the unproductive sectors, the sheltered sectors, services and so on obviously come to mind but I welcome the degree of competition in the retail sector. Data from the United...

Seanad: Civil Law (Missing Persons) Bill 2013: Second Stage (20 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister, as always. I thank Senator Colm Burke for his Bill. Those of us who know the Senator know him for his thoroughness and conscientiousness, and those characteristics shine through in the Bill. Like the other speakers, I welcome what we are doing here. Senator van Turnhout has just said how important these events are. I remember the little posters and scripts for...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: The group which visited earlier was from Derry, Donegal and Fermanagh as part of the peace process, and I did not get the chance to welcome them. Apropos of the other discussions we have had, a critical thing the university constituencies did was to enrol people resident in Northern Ireland. The State has been spectacularly unable or unwilling to do that ever since the partition of Ireland,...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: This is the place that they can bring their concerns. I am sure that the Leader and the Minister will take their views on board. I agree with Senator Mullins on the increase in employment, which is most welcome. It is incumbent on the Government not to allow property booms, bubbles, false optimism or grandiose plans to reassert themselves. We seem to be going in the right direction and...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes. He chaired a committee related to these matters at one time. The Minister, Deputy Burton, has a background in accounting and has always taken an interest in this issue. She has really pushed it forward. I was pleased the Minister found that 40% of the schemes are fully funded, because there has been something of a panic in the pensions...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Second Stage (26 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I noted at the weekend proposals to demolish houses on ghost estates. Can that issue be debated and fully appraised in order that is not an instinctive reaction? The estates in question have been the subject of planning permission; there are access roads, pipes for water and sewers and sites have been cleared, while some buildings have had foundations laid and so on. Recent sales of houses...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I would like to be associated with the tributes to Bernard McGlinchey. Like Senator Cullinane, I did not know him but, having heard the moving accounts of him by Senators Mac Sharry and Ó Domhnaill, I believe we got to know him a little better. He was born in 1932 in a county which, as we know, is only barely attached to the rest of this State by the three or four miles of territory...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 3: In page 5, between lines 11 and 12 to insert the following:"(3) The Minister shall submit to the Oireachtas an annual estimate of the savings due to to the operation of this amendment.".I welcome back the Minister of State, Deputy Sean Sherlock. I also take this opportunity thank the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, who originally introduced the legislation...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: Where do we go from here? The next time a delegation tells the Minister of State's officials its proposal will save money, will he ask how much will be saved in order that we do not end up believing money will be saved without anyone having any idea how much? We must raise the standard of public administration to a higher level than that. Giving in to delegations and deputations has cost...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: We should do our business in the House better. The Minister of State has made a claim which he is unable to stand up in any quantitative way. While I support him in that claim, I wish we could jointly stand it up because the country has a problem with legal costs. I will raise the issue with the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Shatter, and the National Competitiveness Council...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: Yes, because we must move towards better ways to make policy.

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 4: In page 13, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:"(9) The Irish Auditing and Accounting Supervisory Authority shall report annually to the Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform on oversight and compliance in the audit sector, the ability of the sector to bear the costs of inadequate quality assurance standards and the adequacy of...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I hope so.

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I believe this amendment is necessary. The Minster of State referred to the Committee of Public Accounts which, as he pointed out, audits the authority's accounts, resources, systems and procedures. The faults lie not in how it accounts for the relatively small amount of money it spends but in the general economy as a whole. I referred to what Helen Hall, the chief executive, said in her...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 5: In page 13, line 17, after “regulations” to insert “notified to the Oireachtas”.I again welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock. We referred to the matter before the last 28 seconds of the match on Sunday. The Bill states that: ""third-country auditor” has the same meaning as in Regulation 3 of the Regulations of 2010." I...

Seanad: Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (27 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister of State for his graciousness in regard to amendments Nos. 4 and 5. I am sure we will have further discussion on the issue. We were all agreed before we took the division that this area needs to be confronted. Earlier we had tributes to former Senator McGlinchey who spoke for 12 successive hours. I congratulate the Minister of State on dealing with 1,400 sections in...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I join with Senator Hayden in commending the PSNI in Enniskillen on finding the missing children from County Roscommon. I think the expert advice in the early hours is important. It was terrific they found the children so soon. They deserve the thanks of the House for that. I also thank the Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Sean Sherlock....

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (28 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I second the amendment and welcome the Minister back to the House. In the Bill, the Minister will require a Senator to be amazingly abstemious and to take no part in saving the Seanad if a future Taoiseach proposes a referendum to abolish the Seanad. The Bill does not allow the funds to be used under the referendum Acts.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (28 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for the clarification and formally second the amendment.