Results 1,761-1,780 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: The Minister has dealt very well with issues of security, which was his concern. We were concerned with economics issues. He is concerned with both. That is part of the reason his is a better amendment than the one put down in the names of Senators Quinn, Crown and myself. I welcome amendment No. 2 and endorse it.

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 4: In page 21, to delete lines 13 to 24.The point arising is the last minute appeal on behalf of Cork Airport. We discussed the matter with the Minister and he has drawn our attention to the disadvantages, etc., that could arise. The case we were making, the Minister may recall, is that Cork Airport is substantially bigger than Shannon Airport in terms of passenger...

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister. I believe an earlier amendment I had tabled proposed to delete the words "Dissolution of" before "Cork Airport Authority". In the formulation the Minister has given to Members, there is a plan. It may be happening a bit more slowly than I would wish but as the Minister indicated, the Cork Airport Authority can be revived if the circumstances permit. I hope this...

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 10: In page 37, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following:“Statistics of airport performance 44.The Minister shall cause to be published statistics of the international price competitiveness of Irish airports, the efficiency of their capital and operating expenditures and such other performance indicators as the Minister deems appropriate.”.This...

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (12 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for his openness concerning several amendments we have tabled. If there is anything we can do on this side of the House when the Minister is having the discussions, we will be glad to help. We do have a problem because, left to themselves, airport architects and engineers would gladly spend the entire GDP on building new airports. We are attempting to put some kind of...

Seanad: Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. He referred to the various organisations to which Forfás staff will transfer. Do we know the numbers transferring to each body? One of the Minister's stated considerations in bringing forward this legislation is to facilitate a transfer of expertise to the Department to assist him in his decision making. My concern is that the staff might all be going to the...

Seanad: Industrial Development (Forfás Dissolution) Bill 2013: Committee and Remaining Stages (12 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I, too, thank the Minister. He is always welcome in this House and I wish him well. His Department is crucial to the development process, as are the agencies. We are concerned that the rate of job creation seems to have moderated in the last quarter, but we hope that it is just a blip. Although the Minister is unceasing in his labours to make Ireland more competitive and to promote...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: Last Thursday a six year old boy, Jake Brennan, was killed by a car near where he lived in Kilkenny. One does not want to draw any imputation from that incident, but it brings up the wider issue of the safety of children in residential neighbourhoods. I briefly met the Minister, Deputy Phil Hogan, in whose constituency the dreadful event happened. He believes we need to look at planning...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: The problem, according to the Wright report on the financial crisis, was that the Department of Finance was distinctly short on qualified economists. While I hope the situation has been rectified so that it no longer needs open competition, in general we should favour open competition. This is a vital appointment.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: Mr. Wright found that in the Canadian Government in Ottawa, approximately 60% of senior staff had qualifications in economics at masters level and above compared to only 7% in the Department of Finance in Dublin. Has this deficit been rectified and is it a good idea that we do not have open competition for this vital post? Perhaps we could have a debate in the House with the Minister for...

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Second Stage (17 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: Shame.

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Second Stage (17 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I wish to share my time with Senator Walsh.

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: Second Stage (17 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House. It is symbolic that on the day we debated in this House legislation governing the use of sunbeds, we do not need them in Ireland. The Minister is now, in terms of the legislation currently before us, proving we do not need tobacco either. I hope this is a double triumph for the Minister. On 10 June, the British Medical Journal contained an article in...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the inaugural flight yesterday to Ireland from St John's, Newfoundland. It is a new service that has been 90% booked for the season, with 16,000 people booking seats on the very first day that bookings opened. It reunites Waterford and its cultural heritage with Newfoundland. They have common music and the same kind of accents and so on. It brings people from Canada to Ireland...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Senator.

Seanad: 750th Anniversary of First Irish Parliament: Statements (18 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. It was a great day on 18 June 750 years ago when Parliament was instituted. The alternative, as my schoolteacher used to say, was robber bands - except that he pronounced it "rubber bands", leaving us to wonder what on earth were these rubber bands to which the alternative was Parliament. I am glad that we are here. It is a terrific occasion. The last...

Seanad: 750th Anniversary of First Irish Parliament: Statements (18 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: That volume of the Seanad's proceedings must be one of the most poetic that one will find in a Parliament anywhere. The words of Henry Grattan come to mind when he achieved legislative independence in 1782: I found Ireland upon her knees, I watched over her with a paternal solicitude; I have traced her progress from injuries to arms and from arms to liberty. Spirit of Swift! Spirit of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (18 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: I have not seen the Minister since his operation and I wish him well. It is nice to see him back.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (18 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: The Minister mentioned the taxation of parent companies. What will the Commission and the Minister say to each other about that? I put the same question regarding the tailored guidance on health and legal services. I will leave it at that because I do not want him to be late for his next appointment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Forthcoming ECOFIN Council: Minister for Finance (18 Jun 2014)

Sean Barrett: Is that connected to the amendment under this year's Finance Act which provides that companies must declare a nationality?