Results 23,181-23,200 of 74,100 for speaker:Bernard Durkan

Written Answers — Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Eligibility (15 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: 289. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection when an investigation into a carer's allowance payment will be concluded in the case of a person (details supplied); when the payment will be reinstated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7888/18]

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Second Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I welcome this legislation. It does a good job of addressing the issues that have presented. They have been debated many times in the House, and rightly so. The Bill addresses a social imbalance that became obvious in recent times. To do that, it was necessary and desirable - excuse me, but the flu must have caught up with me at last. Expiry might come sooner than I thought. As a...

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Second Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: It could well be old age, but I was not expecting it to come on in such a quick onslaught.

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Second Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I hope that the legislation works well. I have hopes for the onward thrust of business and employment and the good relations between the employer and the employee that have become a hallmark. Employers and employees made considerable sacrifices during the bad times of recent years. We hope this legislation will address some of the aftermath of those times and that the country at large will...

Employment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017: Second Stage (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I am glad to have an opportunity to speak to this important legislation which levels the ground somewhat in particular sectors in the employment market and labour force. It goes without saying that a good working relationship between employers and employees is essential to a well-run business. Be that business large or small, the two sides depend upon each other. The employer depends on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Absolutely.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I welcome our guests and thank them for their dissertation. It is an interesting exchange of views at an interesting time. As we know, Europe is inhaling at the moment. We have to wait for it to exhale and we do not know what the outcome will be. We do not know whether Brexit will lead to the destruction of Europe. It could, in that it could undermine the whole structure of Europe. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: The original Brexiteer was here last week telling us about all the good things that could happen from being outside the Union and so on. Nigel Farage is known for many things but being a supporter of the European Union is not one of them. By his own admission, he spent 18 years working to undermine it. Interestingly - and it is symbolic of what has happened thus far - at the end of the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I am doing my best.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I know that you are keen for me to say what I should say and I am trying to do that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: The time in which we live now begs all of us to be strongly supportive of our stance. Regardless of politics, we have to be strongly supportive of that stance. If we move away from it, we are in serious trouble. I wish to acknowledge the situation of Irish fishing. There will be a problem in that sector and with the Common Agricultural Policy as well. They will be resolved. The CAP...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I have four minutes left. I am sorry about that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I know. I should not be allowed to talk at all but we will not go there.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I was going to finish on CAP reform before I was distracted. We should recognise that the Europe which will emerge in the future will, hopefully, be of our making and will not go in different directions to suit everybody. It should have a common bond with which all the people of Europe can have common cause. I thank the Vice Chairman for his interruption, which I very much appreciate.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Not mine.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with MEPs (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: We know that, too.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Engagement with European Ombudsman (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: I welcome the Ombudsman and thank her for her presentation. I agree that transparency is hugely important. If one is dealing with colleagues on an international or European level, it is always good to know their hidden thoughts, and whether the views they express in one particular arena are the same as those they have expressed secretly or might be influencing things in a different...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: How could it be more romantic than this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Speaking of romance, what more romantic date could one have than meeting downstairs in a committee room on St. Valentine's Day? We are underselling ourselves. The statistics which have been presented by the delegates are very interesting. I note the anticipated increase in the size of the population. Are there ways to update the data on a regular basis? They are three years out of date...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health: Review of the Sláintecare Report (Resumed) (14 Feb 2018)

Bernard Durkan: Has the inclusion of the under sixes generated any diagnostic trends? Is there early diagnosis? Is anything happening? The school medical examination system used to be in place but it did not start until a child was five. Has anything shown up which indicates that there is a benefit from including the under sixes in the general medical card system?