Results 1,801-1,820 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Second Stage (2 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State and wish him the best of luck in the next week and in his subsequent career. I do not welcome the Bill. It harkens back to the era of bribing people with their own money. It was reported in the Irish Examinerlast Thursday that the Department of Health has a reported overrun of €158 million. Why on earth are Ministers in that Department extending...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Second Stage (2 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Fund Bill 2014: Second Stage (2 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I congratulate Senator Marc MacSharry on the work he has done in drafting the Bill which deals with a very important issue. Anything we can do to prevent people from committing suicide is absolutely vital. I support the provision under which it is proposed to raise €200 million in funding for the National Office for Suicide Prevention. Like previous...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: In the post-troika era as the Government plans a reshuffle and the programme for the remainder of its term of office, I ask that we debate in the House the role of the Comptroller and Auditor General. It is not just that he should investigate financial mishaps after they happen, he also has a role as a national auditor. I hope the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Cathaoirleach for reminding me. I second Senator Crown's amendment in respect of No. 11 on the Order of Business.

Seanad: Defamation (Amendment) Bill 2014: First Stage (3 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I second the proposal.

Seanad: Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill 2014: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I appreciate the comments of the Minister and Senator Ó Clochartaigh. We must always be vigilant in our duties and obligations under the Good Friday Agreement and St. Andrews Agreement. Had this House been abolished last year, my constituents in Northern Ireland would never again have had a vote in the Oireachtas. Some were annoyed by this, but it did not happen. This is an example...

Seanad: Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission Bill 2014: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I agree with the Minister and Senator Zappone. There is the other aspect to imposing these requirements regarding the positive duty. Let us make it a dialogue going both ways. There is a positive duty on public bodies to have regard to human rights. I would accentuate the positive. We received a briefing recently from An Garda Síochána and the garda giving the briefing to...

Seanad: Health Service Executive (Financial Matters) Bill 2013: Second Stage (3 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his mammoth task. It is probably the most difficult task in Irish public life to reform the health service. I note from the first page of the Minister's speech that we are on a journey to the dissolution of the HSE. Our briefing document from the Oireachtas includes the steps mentioned by Senator Crown towards more freedom for...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (8 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the ambassador of the United Kingdom to the House. I also welcome the invitation that has been extended to President Higgins from the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of Ireland to attend next year's parade in Rossnowlagh. I hope the processing of that invitation in the normal way will enhance relationships and promote friendships, which is what happened during President McAleese's...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. It is a fair while since we first discussed competition policies when we would get together in economic gatherings, etc.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Chair for that compliment. I presume I am doing it in competition with other speakers. Competition depends on new entrants and start-ups and on ease of entry and exit. We depend on the incumbents not to collude. In general, I think of the incumbents as the potentially evil people in the "victimless crime" that was referred to by the Minister at the outset. I note Dr. Vincent...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Second Stage (8 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Senator Quinn mentioned some of the ridiculous advertising campaigns which were a waste of public money. He mentioned the advice to shop around. The other one we all remember was the man on the top deck of a bus with a strong Dublin accent saying he did not know what a tracker mortgage was. He must have been either working in a bank or working for the Financial Regulator; they were the...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (9 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I agree with virtually everything Senators Crown, Gilroy and Colm Burke have said. The general practitioner service is the part of the health service that works. In a situation in which well over 90% - I am sure the Minister of State can correct me on the number - of people who attend accident and emergency departments are never admitted to hospital, does...

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency: Motion (9 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and I give him my best wishes in all fields of endeavour. One of the things I noted about environmental scientists in TCD, which I liked, was men and women wearing Wellingtons as they headed off to do the work in the field. I was surprise to read in the EPA report that the site visits to establish air emissions are carried out by external contractors. Why do the...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: May I alert Members to a matter arising from a meeting yesterday of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform? I refer to the Setanta Insurance Company, which is licensed in Malta and has left 75,000 policyholders in the lurch, the cost of which may yet again be imposed upon the Irish consumer and taxpayer. The Leader and I have discussed that matter in this Chamber....

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I am responding to the Leader's wonderful invocation of country and western music yesterday.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Should the concerts now proceed under the theme of 40 shades of green backs, the theme music should be Johnny Cash. The Taoiseach recently announced to some German industrialists that his first car was a Volkswagen Beetle. Should it not have been a 57 Chevrolet?

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 1: In page 13, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:“(r) the Commission, where a reasonable doubt exists about competitiveness of a market and/or economic sector, may open an exploratory investigation in the contestability of a market and submit a proposal for further action to the Minister or any other Minister of the Government to ensure a competitive...