Results 15,381-15,400 of 24,350 for speaker:Jerry Buttimer

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: To be fair to Senator Devine, and I do not want to put words in her mouth, but in her conversation she sought this matter to take place, without debate. I am happy to ask the Minister for an answer to the question posed by Senator Devine because the issues she raised is important. I am not anxious to divide the House because it will not solve the valid issue raised by the Senator..

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I did suggest to Senator Devine that perhaps, over the course of this morning, she could submit a Commencement matter for tomorrow where she will get an answer quickly if she is successful in getting it selected, or on Tuesday.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: That is fine.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: In light of the fact that we just had a vote, I propose that we amend the Order of Business to extend the time for the next item.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: In light of the vote on the Order of Business, an extension will allow the groups spokespersons and the Minister to come in-----

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: If the Senator would listen - sometimes it is good to listen - she will discover that I am trying to accommodate Members in order to allow all the group spokespersons and the Minister to contribute.

Seanad: Order of Business (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: To give the Minister time to reply, I need to extend the time for the debate as a result of the time we lost taking the vote. That is what I am trying to do.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for agreeing to have this debate. It is a very important one and we should put it in context. Senator Boyhan was right in what he said. If we reflect on the contributions of some Members to this debate, the Minister of State should go back to the Custom House and put up the "for sale" sign and we would all go away.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: The reality, as Senator Boyhan fairly stated, is that activity is taking place. We want to see people housed. As a politician working on the ground and working with the Minister of State, Deputy English, I want to see people housed in decent, quality accommodation. That is challenge we face. Senator Coffey was right in his comment to the effect that there was a dysfunctionality in our...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: -----in Cork city and county. Let us put this in perspective and not have the ochón agus the ochón. There are challenges. We understand that. We had a banking system that collapsed. People could not get money. Those in the construction sector could not get people to work and they could not be financed. As the Minister of State said, the local authorities have to employ...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: Now we have a national planning framework.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: There is nothing to retract.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: The Senator does not want to hear good news.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: The key element of the framework is the five pillars in the plan for rebuilding Ireland, which include building social housing, building more homes and accelerating building. I wish to deal with Senator Kelleher's comments about Cork. In the Cork city, from which we both come, we have seen construction of more houses. We have seen the city and county council working to develop matters....

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I will come to that. Foreign direct investment companies - as I said on the Order of Business earlier, have provided 20,000 jobs. Members should read the IDA statistics for 2017. They should not put up the bad sign over the door of our country. Senator Kelleher raised the issue of the people sleeping in the doorways of Cork city. There are some who unfortunately are there but there was...

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: The Senator should check that with the Cork Business Association because I was out there and I met some of the people.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I did not slander anybody and Senator Higgins knows I did not do so.

Seanad: Housing: Statements (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: Senator Kelleher should check the record and talk to people in the Cork Business Association and come out and walk the streets with me. I will do that any day the Senator would like. I will conclude by saying that activity is taking place. We have a challenge to meet, but let us reflect on what the Government has done and what it is trying to do. Let us be fair in the debate. Let us not...

Seanad: Technological Universities Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (31 Jan 2018)

Jerry Buttimer: I welcome the Minister of State and commend her on her engagement. As Senator Higgins said, there was huge engagement on the part of the Department in respect of the Bill. That is to be welcomed because it is a better Bill as a result. This is important legislation. The Minister of State said it is "critical legislation for the higher education sector and another important step in the...