Results 21,821-21,840 of 24,447 for speaker:Jerry Buttimer

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: That has nothing to do with the point Senator Ross was making.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I join Senator Ross in asking for a debate on the impending banking appointment in AIB. We seem to have learned nothing and it is symptomatic of the Government's malaise. The appointment of an insider sends a wrong signal to ordinary people that the banking system has learned nothing and that it is business as usual. If this is what the Government wants to happen, it should go ahead and...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I accept that. At a time when the cost of fuel is increasing, we should be looking after the elderly, not penalising them further. I, therefore, want a debate on social welfare payments. Does the Leader agree with Deputy Enda Kenny who said he would not touch child benefit? Does he agree the Government should not cut it?

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: My views on the Seanad are well known.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Where was he for 12 years in government?

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I was, twice or three times.

Seanad: RAPID Programme (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I am pleased the Minister, Deputy Ó Cuív is here. As he knows quite well, his Department has been in the firing line since the publication of the Report of the Special Group on Public Service Numbers and Expenditure Programmes, commonly known as an bord snip chaired by Professor McCarthy. I tabled this matter as somebody who is deeply immersed in the...

Seanad: RAPID Programme (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I thank the Minister for his reply. I welcome his announcement that RAPID will not be eliminated and I am glad that element of the McCarthy report has been discarded. It is important to acknowledge the work being done across disadvantaged areas and I am delighted with the response.

Seanad: Education and Training Responses to the Economic Downturn: Statements (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: That will be a first.

Seanad: Education and Training Responses to the Economic Downturn: Statements (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: That is right.

Seanad: Education and Training Responses to the Economic Downturn: Statements (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Will the Senator use all his time?

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I join Senator Coffey in asking the Leader for a debate on An Bord Pleanála. I have been involved with residents in many appeals against Cork City Council and County Council that went to An Bord Pleanála. Senator Coffey is right. We must have confidence in the planning process and when that process does not seem to be objective, seems biased or partial question marks pertain. I have...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Mortgage and Debt Support Measures: Motion (4 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Mortgage and Debt Support Measures: Motion (4 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I second the motion. Yesterday, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul published its pre-budget submission, aptly titled, Don't Push Them Over the Edge. Many people feel they are living on the edge. I commend Senator McFadden on her eloquent and humane presentation of the motion. People matter to us. Unfortunately, indebtedness has become a huge problem for many ordinary people who were...

Seanad: Mortgage and Debt Support Measures: Motion (4 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I am human. The economic downturn has left an increasing number of people in financial difficulty. Self-employed friends of mine who had three, four or 12 people working for them are struggling to find sufficient work for themselves. According to the Combat Poverty Agency, the ratio of personal debt to disposable income has increased from 48% in 1995 to 170% this year. As I stated, the...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: I agree with Senator Fitzgerald and ask that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Dermot Ahern, come to the House as a matter of extreme urgency. We have seen an increase in what are called tiger kidnappings but the reality is that families are being traumatised. I compliment Larry Broderick of the IBOA who spoke on the radio this morning and was clear, cogent and made...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: ——would not follow protocols and think about the money in the bank. We would do as we were asked to do. I received phone calls this morning from friends of mine who work in banks and who are genuinely concerned about their safety and that of their families. They are ordinary people who are going from A to B every day and now suddenly have to think about their safety. The trauma of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2009)

Jerry Buttimer: He would have been chewing gum rather than garlic.