Results 2,481-2,500 of 5,216 for speaker:Mick Barry

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Covid-19 Pandemic (10 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: 674. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if measures will be put in place to give regard to the arrangements for those preparing for their final apprenticeship exams in view of the Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13027/21]

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: The Davy case is an example of casino capitalism. Ms Rowland talked about groupthink and if there is groupthink, it applies to a culture of greed and entitlement. I think what is displayed is a sense of being untouchable, which is a sense that needs, in my opinion, to be really shaken. For me, the long arm of the law needs to feel a few white collars here. On that, Ms Rowland has indicated...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: To be clear, since the publication of the report Ms Rowland has had tentative engagements with more than one agency, and also she intends to sit down and to discuss with the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, and with An Garda Síochána, not issues right across the financial sector but the specifics of this particular report into Davy. Am I correct in that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: The deal involved goes back to 2014 or thereabouts and it is now 2021. So, the 16 individuals have been involved here for a period of seven years since then. The question arises as to whether this was an exceptional case or whether there might have been other cases in the course of those seven years. That would seem to me to be a strong argument for opening up the books and for going...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: I understand. I merely seek clarification on one point. The Central Bank has conducted an exhaustive investigation over a whole number of years into a particular deal or case. Has there been an investigation, not by Davy, but by the Central Bank into the possibility of other such deals perhaps involving those 16 individuals perhaps within the company over the last seven years or has the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: I understand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: I understand.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: I want to ask my next question because my time is limited. Ms Rowland has made it clear in the course of the engagements that she is not prepared to name the 16 individuals and she has kind of indicated that there might be legal issues with her doing so as well. She has indicated that if, and when, they leave Davy that their new employers have a responsibility in that situation. Do the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Central Bank of Ireland: Discussion (9 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: It seems to me that it is possible that one of those people could end up managing my pension fund. It is not in my hands; it is the hands of the Central Bank and the heads of the financial services company. These 16 individuals held, and I presume still hold, a large number of shares in Davy - in fact, probably a controlling share. They may be forced to move on to other companies, but is...

Impact of Covid-19 on Women for International Women’s Day: Statements (4 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: The Debenhams workers will organise socially distanced pickets and protests across the country next Monday outside their stores to mark and celebrate International Women's Day and to mark day 333 of their dispute. In Cork they will be joined by Arcadia workers. These two groups of women workers will speak with one voice when they ask the Government where the legislation it promised to...

Covid-19 Vaccine Roll-out Programme: Statements (Resumed) (4 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: I was sent up to this place by the people of Cork North Central to give voice to their opinions and concerns, which is an important part of my job. The people on the ground feel that they are doing a hard shift. For many, lockdown number three is the toughest of them all but the vast majority of people are sticking with the guidelines and to the plan. There is some scepticism about the...

Covid-19 Vaccine Roll-out Programme: Statements (Resumed) (4 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: No. I am making a statement. We all heard the story today about the Connemara GP racing around in the dead of night getting the needles and syringes because he was informed of the delivery at the very last minute. Leaving that aside, the story that is heard across the country and that I have heard in Cork North Central is of the old people who were asked to go to their GP surgery. There...

Banking Sector: Statements (3 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is a Minister for the rich in a Government for the rich. He is a Minister for the fat cats in a Government for the fat cats. He is a Minister in a Government which does not give a damn about working people. Ulster Bank put 2,800 jobs in jeopardy but there was no action from him. Bank of Ireland axed 88 branches and is driving for 1,400 redundancies but there...

Reopening Schools and Leaving Certificate Examinations: Statements (3 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: I have three questions for the Minister. She is not a supporter of a policy of open access to third level education, but does she think it fair to force students to compete against each other for limited college places in a pandemic year? For two years in a row, the State has been unable to organise a traditional leaving certificate. Given that this exam is out of date, unacceptably...

Housing Shared Equity Loan Scheme: Motion [Private Members] (3 Mar 2021)

Mick Barry: This shared equity scheme is good news for builders, developers, banks and land hoarders and is bad news for people who need affordable homes. Pumping up the demand when the supply stays more or less the same is a recipe for higher house prices. A similar scheme was introduced in England and Wales in 2013. The house price inflation for new houses, over the second-hand ones that were...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (25 Feb 2021)

Mick Barry: There are significant concerns among members of the public regarding international travel and new variants. People can see clearly that it does not make sense to make significant sacrifices in their lives to drive down the infection levels in the State while leaving the back door largely open. A point was raised earlier and it has not been properly addressed. I refer to the fact that a...

Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Feb 2021)

Mick Barry: The Government relented to the retail and hospitality lobby and opened up in the run-up to Christmas. This created a perfect storm for the virus with deadly consequences. We need a radically different approach to that of bending to the will of business interests. Instead, we need an approach that will put the interests of public health first. We need to go after this virus and repress it...

New Decade, New Approach Agreement: Statements (24 Feb 2021)

Mick Barry: Last year, with the return of the Stormont Executive, we were promised a new decade, a new approach. It has been a turbulent year but what is the verdict one year on? Last week, the BBC Northern Ireland "Spotlight" programme focused on the level of reliance on food banks by many in Northern Ireland, particularly young workers. It shone a spotlight on the number of people who are really...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Feb 2021)

Mick Barry: Is the Taoiseach aware that the garda who fired the shot that killed George Nkencho has not been suspended from An Garda Síochána pending investigation and, it would seem, has not yet been interviewed by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, GSOC?

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Feb 2021)

Mick Barry: In that case I will take a different path with this. Is the Taoiseach aware that correspondence sent by the chairperson of GSOC to the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, dated 22 January refers to the challenge faced by an oversight body with fewer than 40 investigators in dealing with a Garda service of approximately 15,000 members? The under-resourcing of GSOC and the glacial pace...