Results 2,121-2,140 of 2,663 for speaker:Malcolm Byrne

Seanad: Human Rights in China: Motion (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I will not push it but I am disappointed that-----

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Health): Statements (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister for coming to the House. While he will not want it to be mentioned, it is important that Senators from all sides of the House show solidarity with him following the awful protest - I would not even call it a protest - that took place outside his home. There is no call for that. These are ignorant thugs-----

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Health): Statements (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: -----who have no respect for democracy. The Minister will find that there is solidarity with him and his family on all sides of this House. We need to take action. We are all in favour of peaceful protest but to do what was done outside the Minister's home and to his family is completely unacceptable. As I am sure the Minister is aware, the difficulty with this pandemic is that there is...

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Health): Statements (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Elimination of Abuse Towards Referees, Officials and Players in Sport: Discussion (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank all the witnesses for their contributions and all the volunteer referees and the other people around the country who are a vital part of sport in this country. I will follow on from what was said by my colleague, Senator Shane Cassells, about the online abuse of referees and players. It is an issue others have raised. Such online abuse has become a growing trend. In terms of...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Elimination of Abuse Towards Referees, Officials and Players in Sport: Discussion (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I was very much aware of that campaign. It was very powerful and it spoke to the message, not just for the GAA but for all sporting organisations. For us, it is an interesting issue which I deliberately asked about. One of the issues we are grappling with is that question of the individual complaints mechanism where we deal with online abuse. We obviously know about it in politics. Many...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Irish Sign Language (30 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this matter on the Irish Sign Language, ISL, which I know is of deep personal interest to him. I thank the Minister of State for coming into this House, as I know she is personally invested in this issue. My colleague in the Dáil, Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, has also regularly raised this issue. It is an important statement by these Houses...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Irish Sign Language (30 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State. I know her passion for this area and exactly what she feels. That passion is something that we need across all elements of government because, with the greatest of respect, the Minister of State cannot do this on her own. In the education space in particular, this has to be about focusing on the individual young person and what it is we need to put in place...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I join with colleagues in the call for a TRIPS waiver. I have raised this issue in the House on a number of occasions. Senator Moynihan and others have rightly made the point that until everybody on this planet is safe, nobody is safe. Senator Conway was correct when he said it is great that we have a vaccination rate of 95% and the average within the European Union is now approximately...

Seanad: Horticultural Peat (Temporary Measures) Bill 2021: Second Stage (30 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: There can be no greener sector of the economy than horticulture and mushroom growing. By its nature, as an indigenous industry, it is deeply committed to the greening of Ireland. It is impacted by climate change and those involved are very much aware of the effect of climate change. Most are strongly supportive of ending the use of peat as a fossil fuel because they see the impact of it....

Seanad: National Development Plan 2021-2030: Statements (30 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister for coming to the House and for his work on the development of this comprehensive plan. While I welcome his statement that this is all about delivery, it is also about ensuring value for money. One of the problems with many major public projects is that the public accept the need for them but ask who is watching their budgets. The national children's hospital obviously...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cybersecurity Policy (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. He will be aware that in May of this year, we had a ransomware attack on our health services. It was the largest known attack on a health service anywhere in the world. For this to happen to any health service is frankly disgraceful, but it is particularly disgraceful as we battle a pandemic. Credit is due to the IT staff who tried as...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cybersecurity Policy (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he is able to measure the direct cost in the figure of €37.5 million this year. We are six months on and, as the Minister of State has said, it still has not been fully resolved. The indirect costs are much more difficult to measure but I have no doubt that we are talking about tens of millions of euro with regard to the loss of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I want to raise the question of the future of higher education funding. It is well over five and a half years since the Cassells report was published. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Simon Harris, indicated that now is the time for the question to be addressed. This can has continually been kicked down the road. It is completely...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: Hear, Hear.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: Hear, hear.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I have a point of order. A Chathaoirligh, I ask you to provide clarity on your interpretation. When Senator Crowe raised the issue of a sentence, you said that members should not comment on a sentence that is handed down. I can fully understand if a court case is ongoing that we should not comment in this House. However, when a decision has been handed down, I think, as Members, we should...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I appreciate that. I do not believe it is appropriate that we should necessarily criticise the judges, but if we feel that a sentence was inappropriate, and I am sure Members can think of such instances, I believe that once it has been handed down we should be entitled to comment on that.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Key Priorities and Legislation of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media: Discussion (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister and the Minister of State and commend them on the continuing increases in the budgets in the areas of arts, sport and tourism. I am going to focus my questions on the area of arts, media and culture. The Minister mentioned the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill, which is critical legislation. I welcome the fact the Minister is committed to the recruitment of the...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Key Priorities and Legislation of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media: Discussion (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: That will include the Minister identifying the job description for the online safety commissioner.