Results 1,661-1,680 of 1,886 for speaker:Fergal Browne
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I see a potential difficulty in the case of nursing homes changing hands. The patient might be there during the tenures of both owners and be caught in the crossfire. Perhaps the HSE might give special consideration to that scenario. In the case of a nursing home being taken over, there might be a delay in eliciting a tax clearance certificate from the new owners. The bottom line is that...
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: The greatest difficulty with the Bill is plotting the Dublin area against non-Dublin areas. The Minister of State is from County Kildare and does not need a lecture from me. Carlow belongs more in the greater Dublin area than in the south east. Our colleagues in Waterford could not give a damn about us except when it suits them to include us in the south east. Otherwise we are completely...
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: What about index-linking the payments?
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I wish to return to the issue of index-linking, which puzzles me. If a pensioner lives in Dublin in a house worth more than â¬500,000, or outside Dublin in a house worth â¬366,000, is the Government indicating that there is no entitlement to subvention? What is such a person meant to do instead?
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: A person may have lived in an area all their life and there could be some family relations in the vicinity. Is that person meant to sell the house and move to a different part of the country which may be affordable but has no family or friend support? What if the person is in their 80s or 90s? It is a difficulty and I am puzzled by it. The â¬10,400 figure is equal to the State pension....
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: Has that amount been taken into account? If, for example, a person in receipt of a State pension did some work during the week, he or she might have almost â¬300 per week between the pension and the extra income. Such a person would then be outside the subvention rate if the person were in a nursing home because the income would breach the â¬10,400 limit. This figure should be increased...
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I wish to ask the Minister of State to reply on the â¬16,000 figure. Is it the case that people who receive the State pension and earn a few euro extra per week, as they are allowed to and are encouraged by the State to do, will find themselves outside the loop? That is a serious mistake if it is the case.
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I am still confused. A pensioner may earn â¬100 per week along with their State pension, which is allowed, leaving a total sum of approximately â¬15,000 per year. We are discussing an amendment stipulating that a person cannot have an income of more than â¬10,400, but the income of some pensioners will be above this. The State will on one hand indicate that such people can work away,...
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: My understanding is pensioners can earn â¬100 but perhaps I am wrong.
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 15: In page 10, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "(6) (a) A person applying for a subvention, or a person acting on his or her behalf, may appeal, to an appeals officer designated by the Minister, on the grounds ofâ (i) his or her means and circumstances, or (ii) any abatement of the proposed rate of subvention to that person from the maximum rate...
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I move amendment No. 19: In page 12, between lines 8 and 9, to insert the following: "(5) (a) A person who is in receipt of a subvention and who is deemed by the Executive under subsection (2) either to be no longer qualified for the payment of a relevant subvention, or qualifies for the payment of a different relevant subvention than that currently being paid to the person, or a person...
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I had no difficulty with taking Report Stage today, but I am unhappy with the explanation I received about the figure of â¬10,400. Is it possible for us to adjourn for 30 minutes to seek clarification on that point and return? I am not sure what is the view of the House on this.
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: Can we reconvene in 30 minutes to get clarification on the points raised by Senator Ryan and I? We could then proceed to Report Stage.
- Seanad: National Lottery Funding (1 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: As the Minister of State is aware, the Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism has the joyful task of making many sports clubs happy in allocating national lottery funding in the next few weeks. New Oak Boys Soccer Club in Carlow is one club that has made an application. This club is in a unique situation because it has the club house and pitches but requires fencing in order to be fully...
- Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: It is anticipated the UK overspill will be reduced from 2008 when the analogue switch-off is planned. However, UK services are already available to Irish viewers on cable, satellite and MMDS services. While I recognise the concerns of Senators about the availability of UK broadcasting services to Irish households, my primary aim is to create a legislative framework for Irish broadcasting...
- Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I am advised some spillover will occur, especially in Border areas, but not as much as happens at present.
- Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: Unfortunately, the British have decided to switch off and it is outside our control.
- Seanad: Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (7 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: As the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Deputy Noel Dempsey, stated, the Irish public has long enjoyed the happy accident of the overspill of UK analogue services. The UK will switch off these services over the next five years. This has nothing to do with the roll-out of Irish DTT. It is simply the actions of the UK authorities in planning for their spectrum use....
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (8 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I move amendment No.1: In page 10, to delete the figure inserted by Government amendment No. 14 at Committee and substitute "â¬20,800". I again welcome the Minister of State and his officials to the House this week. I raised this point during the Committee Stage debate last week and the Minister of State should take it on board and accept it. On Committee Stage, the House amended the upper...
- Seanad: Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (8 Feb 2007)
Fergal Browne: I am not happy with this Bill and can envisage it causing major problems for both HSE staff, who must try to work out rates of subvention, and patients and their families. The Minister should consider my earlier suggestion as a way to encourage private health insurers to give customers the option of paying extra for their premiaââ