Results 20,161-20,180 of 32,583 for speaker:Richard Bruton
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: I do not doubt Deputy's Wallace's concerns about the situation in Syria and Iraq following the takeover by Islamic State in parts of the region. There is no doubt, as he points out, that the Assad regime was under attack from certain groups, and those groups were being supported by other players. Likewise, there is no doubt that some of the behaviour of those in the Islamic State represents...
- Order of Business (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: It is proposed to take No. 15a, motion re ministerial rota for parliamentary questions; No. 15b, motion re membership of committees; No. 4, Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014 - Second Stage (resumed); and No. 5, Sport Ireland Bill 2014 - Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that Nos. 15a and 15b shall be decided...
- Order of Business (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: The Bill to which the Deputy referred will be brought forward late next year.
- Order of Business (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: There is a great deal of planning going on within the Department of Health on this particular project, but I do not have a publication date for the Bill. The A list is put together by the Whips and the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel, based on their confidence of which business can be delivered to the House. The publication of the legislative programme gives Deputies an opportunity to...
- Order of Business (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: In general, where Bills are included on the A list, it means their heads have been agreed by Government and they are expected to be published this session. The Bill we are discussing is not yet at that stage.
- Order of Business (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: Yes, it would. All I can say is that the Minister for Finance is examining that particular scheme.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: As the Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, pointed out, the recovery Ireland is enjoying has not happened by accident. It has happened because the Government made certain choices, one of which was to broaden the tax base in order that it would not be taxing employment. That had been advised by everyone who has examined the challenge of an economy like Ireland's and we are getting the...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: It has opposed everything. Its proposals would have spent our capital fund, that is, the National Pensions Reserve Fund, in the very first couple of years.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: It would have been blown by now. The Government is now using those resources to fund small and medium-sized enterprises and to fund enterprise growth. I will turn to the issue of why there must be charges in the area of water. Ireland has struggled with years of underinvestment in the water system. That is the reality and here, in my own city, we are on a knife edge.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: As the Deputy rightly points out, many parts of the country do not have an adequate water supply. As nearly 40% of that water is leaking away, it is necessary to invest in a modern 21st-century water system to deliver for jobs, families and everyone. This must be done through charges to generate the revenue to make the investment. The Government's approach has been to establish a State...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: The reality is that the Deputy's own party announced that it would cut off all the lending lines to the troika and would make the budgetary adjustments all in one year. Sinn Féin was going to lay aside a whole swathe of public services. It was going to push up taxes and would have destroyed the economy with such an approach.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: That is the reality of the approach Sinn Féin adopted.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: The Government instead has adopted a prudent approach, which now is seeing the benefits. As the Deputy rightly states, the Government will not be obliged to impose any new taxes in the forthcoming budget.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: It will not be obliged to impose any net spending decreases and has reached a position where it now is moving out of the period of difficult adjustment. Moreover, we are seeing the fruits of this in employment growth. This is how one spreads the benefits. This is how one reduces poverty in the country, by addressing those employment needs.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: Of course the Government recognises that people do not like to be obliged to pay for a charge which they were not obliged to pay previously.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: However, as I set out in my earlier reply, this is absolutely a correct way to manage and expensive resource in which there has been years of under-investment.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: It costs €1.2 billion to deliver water and the thought that 40% of that is being wasted is an appalling vista. It is necessary to make the investment, which is what Irish Water will do. It has a rolling programme of €1.8 billion investment in the water system-----
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: -----that will upgrade the supply and make it fit for the 21st century to create employment and to support families. This is the choice the Government made and it is one over which it absolutely can stand. It will manage this resource in a more efficient way and will allow resources to drive employment growth.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: There were a lot of questions there that were rolled into one.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Sep 2014)
Richard Bruton: As for the position with regard to ISIS or ISIL, it undoubtedly is an extraordinary challenge to human rights within the area in which it is operating. As the Deputy rightly pointed out, aid workers and journalists have been assassinated in the most appalling situation. This represents a difficult challenge and the Irish Government certainly is alert to the need to get a long-term...