Results 1,421-1,440 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

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

Sean Barrett: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House. The principal Act means the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. I agree that it is mostly about pensions, but have I got an earlier version? The definitions are different and I do not know if we are working off the same paper. I agree with what she said, but I wonder if it is in fact reflected in the amendment under definitions, which has the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister. The way in which the trustees make the request to the Minister is the kernel of the issue. The new section inserted by amendment No. 17 states: "the Minister shall request the Minister for Finance to pay out of the Central Fund to the trustees of the relevant scheme, an amount equal to the certified amount for the purpose of the discharge, by the trustees of that...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (28 Nov 2013)

Sean Barrett: When a sector is experiencing the problems detailed by the Minister before the vote, is there a question of a need to update the guidelines for trustees? The sector is in trouble and the version in the 2010 Pensions Board document has provision for pension scheme trustees. Does this need to be made more radical? For example, should we firmly shut the door on what I regarded at the time as...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I ask the Leader to pass on the sympathies of the House to the Lord Provost of Glasgow, Sadie Docherty, and to the First Minister of Scotland, Alex Salmond, on the tragic death of eight people in the recent Glasgow helicopter disaster. The very name of the Lord Provost, Sadie Docherty, indicates the strong connections between Ireland, including the Cathaoirleach's own county of Mayo, as well...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 3: In page 14, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(c) a statement of the reasons for the application to include administration costs, the award of added years to retirees, the extent of underestimated longevity, poor investment returns, failure to increase the retirement age and other reasons for the inability of the resources of the scheme to...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: That is a level of incompetence. According to the one I downloaded from the Department of Health website last night, life expectancy in 1960 was 69.69. Happily, today is 80.50. That information is available as a public document. The actuaries do not even have to do anything. They can just Google the Central Statistics Office and get the information. I do not understand how people could...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: Why are the actuaries pleading as a factor to the Minister that they did not think people would live that long when it is hardly fresh news in society that that has been happening? It was well known that the people who retired in 1960, 53 yeas ago, would live longer. We have a tradition of poor investment returns by insurance companies, banks, accountants and so on. Why is that always the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: Absolutely.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for what she said about the statutory guidelines. As in many of these matters, we are trying to prevent recurrences and we are trying to run things better from this day forward. I believe that is the function of the Seanad and the Oireachtas, and that is what we have come into the Houses of the Oireachtas to do. I thank the Minister for her open-mindedness towards what...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: We had a good debate with the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, when she was in the House and it probably went against her grain to bring in such legislation. The Europeans designed a currency which has caused us untold misery. Tugging the forelock to what is in a European directive is not necessary. If we could do it more sensibly, would the Minister not take a look at the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: No, and I thank the Minister for giving us very good reasons not to press it.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2013: Report and Final Stages (3 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 5: In page 15, line 3, after “approve” to insert “or amend”.What is the role envisaged for the Minister for Finance?

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I echo the statements of sympathy for the Breen and Buchanan families and the praise for Judge Smithwick. I also welcome the measured response by the Minister of Justice in Northern Ireland, David Ford. I am sure that the very good working relationship between him and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence, Deputy Shatter, will serve us all. Will the Leader clarify whether yet again...

Seanad: Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2013: Motion (4 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Tom Hayes, to the House but I must say that I have misgivings about this item. The Minister of State said the subsidy was €43 million, while Senator Comiskey estimates that 1.2 million people attend race meetings, which is €36 for everybody who goes to a race meeting. That is an incredible level of subsidy for a bankrupt country to give...

Seanad: Mental Health Services: Motion (4 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I commend the Senators who have tabled the motion before the House. This is a major issue in society. I look forward to hearing from Senator Gilroy, who has much more expertise in this area than I do. The thoughts I am expressing come from outside the system. As Dr. Eoin O'Sullivan of Trinity College has pointed out, this State inherited an amazing...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: The Naval Service will take delivery of a new ship early in 2014. Will the Leader and the other party leaders confer, with a view to nominating a possible name for the ship to the Minister for Defence, Deputy Shatter? It would be appropriate for Members of a House which has proved to be unsinkable this year to arrive at a jointly agreed proposal for the Minister, Deputy Shatter, on the name...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report November 2013: Discussion with Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (5 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the members of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council. The last time we were here it turned out that I had taught everybody except one member of the delegation, so I had better praise their work. Professor McHale's own role was a troika suggestion which I strongly supported. Does it enhance his role when troika have left? Will he still have contacts with them? Will he be consulted...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Fiscal Assessment Report November 2013: Discussion with Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (5 Dec 2013)

Sean Barrett: I think Professor McHale has captured the points. I appreciate his work on the multipliers. As legislators, we get examples all the time whereby if a certain amount of money was given to project X, some 84 million people would immediately be employed. Professor McHale's work on trying to put some sense into that is valuable. It should be widely distributed to Deputies, Senators and senior...