Results 201-220 of 904 for speaker:Ray Butler

Seanad: Tax and Social Welfare Codes: Motion (19 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I will not delay everyone. This has been a great debate and I thank everyone who contributed to it. I also thank the Minister and I am delighted to hear about what he is doing behind the scenes, which follows on from what Deputy Joan Burton was doing. Senator Martin Conway stated: "Well said." We now have a Minister who is in the real world as regards social protection for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I echo the sentiments of my learned friend across the Chamber about the Minister for Education and Skills coming to the House, especially with families coping with children going back to school soon. I was on the education committee from 2011 to 2016 and we produced a report on school donations from parents with children going back to school, which is a huge issue. Certain schools say that...

Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (12 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I welcome the Minister to the Upper House. I am delighted and honoured to have been appointed as Fine Gael spokesperson on social protection by the Taoiseach. I look forward to working alongside the Minister in this challenging and complex area in order to take the necessary strides in closing the gap to achieve a more socially just Ireland for all. As spokesperson, I wish to emphasise how...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I would like if the relevant Minister would come to the House to deal with the North-South interconnector. I know that because of the oral hearing, the Minister could not answer questions in the other House. We all know Fianna Fáil and the Green Party started the North-South interconnector. When Fianna Fáil was in power, it was like "The Wombles". It was all right for the...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I met various Ministers during the five years I was a Member of the other House. We were told it could not be changed and that it was further down the road than any other project. That message was shoved down our throats. There are 155 pages in the programme for Government between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, which includes bogs and the butterflies. However, there is no mention of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: We do not want to leave Sinn Féin out, we want to bring it into the picture.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: It can come riding in on its high horse because we have good news. Sinn Féin is going to stop this. As result of the Brexit vote, there is a problem for the North-South pylon project. Basically, it is a designated EU project of common interest. To be awarded this status, a development must have benefits for at least two European Union states. I call on Sinn Féin - we have...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: Sinn Féin can sort the whole thing out. It can stop the North-South interconnector. I call on Sinn Féin to get off the fence and stop this once and for all.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Jul 2016)

Ray Butler: I ask the Leader to invite the Minister of State with responsibility for regional economic development, Deputy Michael Ring, to the House for a debate on retail planning in rural Ireland. We have all been on the Seanad campaign and have gone through large towns and villages in rural Ireland where we have seen many shops closed. Local planning authorities give planning permission for...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I am delighted the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Deputy Heather Humphreys, is in France this morning to mark the ceremonies to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of the Battle of the Somme. It was a major offensive by British and French armies on the German lines, beginning on 1 July 1916. The action continued until November 1916. Six Meath men were killed on the...

Seanad: Waste Disposal Charges: Statements (30 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Next Tuesday. Could I make a comment on the issue?

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2016: Second Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Ireland is not and has never been closed to immigrants. How could that be the case with our history? Just over 1,500 vulnerable persons from 27 different countries have resettled in 22 different communities throughout the country, as at December 2015. While the Bill before us today is clearly well intentioned and motivated by concerns we all share for those genuine applicants impacted by...

Seanad: Immigration (Reform) (Regularisation of Residency Status) Bill 2016: Second Stage (29 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Genuine assistance for those who genuinely require it is only right, but for those willing to take advantage of the system that would be put in place if this Bill were to proceed, without being effectively scrutinised, it is absolutely wrong. It is not only our job to protect those who need it most, it is our moral duty. Immigration has an impact on every society, including both the host...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I congratulate the blueshirts, as I am sure would the rest of the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Of course I mean Iceland, on its brilliant win last night. I wish the team well for the future. We all have a team we can support now. We have much in common in that Iceland is also an island with a very small population.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I also welcome our team home and congratulate the Irish teams, North and South, on a wonderful tournament for the two teams. I wish to raise a recent report which indicates that €20 million is being taken out of the social welfare system each year by companies employing people on a self-employed basis. A PAYE worker pays between 14% and 15% but when one is self-employed one pays an S...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I congratulate the Irish football team on last night's wonderful performance which brought back memories of 22 years ago when Ray Houghton scored. We have all lost friends and family members who were around at that time and we remembered them last night because it was a joyous and wonderful occasion. Radio reports this morning suggest that Ryanair and Aer Lingus will charge €488 for...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I ask Ryanair and Aer Lingus to please reduce their prices and let the ordinary person travel to Lyons. If nothing else, we will shame them into doing so.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Mental Health: Statements (22 Jun 2016)

Ray Butler: I welcome the Minister to the Upper House and congratulate her on her appointment as the new Minister for mental health and older people. I believe she will take the necessary measures to address the ever-growing and pressing issues surrounding mental health. I am also encouraged to see that the Cabinet approved the restoration of the mental health funding for 2016. Commitment was clearly...