Results 2,561-2,580 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Yes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Thank you, Chairman. I have one final question for Ms Fahey. The shops run by the Society of St. Vincent de Paul are playing a vital role. I presume footfall and the number of shops have increased in recent years. How are the shops coping as they seek to assist people through a sixth year of recession?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: The other point that arose was about water charges. We tried to establish the price of water and the generous free allowance. There should be some consumer representation, and some people wanted the local authorities that had been performing that job up to now just to have representation. I believe the meters will cost €600 million. In the UK, only a third to 40% of premises are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Moneylenders were mentioned. I believe Ms Fahy said these were quite popular guys in their local communities. The Seanad passed legislation on friendly societies which went to the Dáil and has not come back yet. The view on friendly societies in legislation was more or less dismissive: no new ones could be founded and those that did not already have loan funds would not be allowed to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the visitors. Recently in the Seanad we found that out of the first 5,000 houses offered by NAMA to local authorities, only 1,000 were taken up. It seems amazing that four fifths of housing that exists has not been taken. When the then Minister of State with responsibility for this area, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, was in the Department, there was an amazingly slow turnover of local...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I have just come here from the Seanad and I am the one person who voted against-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion (Resumed) (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: If all the Senators had been present for the vote on the extension of the universal medical card scheme, there would have been 59 votes to my one vote. It will cost the best part of €100 million for the two schemes - the over-70s, regardless of income, and children under six, regardless of their families' income. That means that the rich get richer, yet we still give them medical...

Seanad: Health (General Practitioner Service) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I oppose the Bill. When introducing the Bill, the Minister of State said: "The Bill will provide for a GP service to be made available without fees to all children aged five years and younger." In a country where the problem is that the rich get richer, the response of the Oireachtas is "let's give the rich free health care." The evidence from the ESRI studies on EU-SILC is that 69.5% of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: GAA and Aiken Promotions (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Is there any useful information in the questionnaires mentioned by Mr. Duffy?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: GAA and Aiken Promotions (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: If there is good news in them, perhaps a copy of the information might be sent to the Chairman.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: GAA and Aiken Promotions (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Is it much higher?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: GAA and Aiken Promotions (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: The decision to hold five shows seems to have been made around 30 January; the application was made on 17 April and the reply issued on 2 July. This meant that there were fans going around for six months with tickets for an event which was subject to licence. The term "subject to licence" must be qualified. When the Chairman gets committee members together after the delegates leave, that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: GAA and Aiken Promotions (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: It would require the city council to agree, would it not? It is not willing to agree.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: GAA and Aiken Promotions (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the witnesses. I am sorry about all of this. The last time Mr. Duffy was here we had the controversy about Sky Sports. We were on the same side then.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Concert Licensing: GAA and Aiken Promotions (16 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: There were a few guys against him. To take up Senator Coghlan's point, Clones will host its last match of the season on Sunday. It is a magnificent stadium which gets two or three matches a year. It is not too far from Mr. Aiken's home. Perhaps it could all be shifted up there where people would not object. I understand Mr. Duffy is cross on this occasion. We saw Wexford last Saturday...

Seanad: National Treasury Management Agency Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: National Treasury Management Agency Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Harris, on his first day or the first few hours of being elevated to that status. It is great to have him in the House and he is welcome indeed. It is great to have him here. My first impression from looking through the explanatory memorandum and from the Minister's speech is the emphasis on the strategic investment fund corporate governance. Is this...

Seanad: State Airports (Shannon Group) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I would like to give a special welcome to the Minister, my former student. Members can blame me if some of his policies turn out to be wrong. I wish him every success. One of major things I have done since I entered the House is send him letters of congratulations as he advanced in his political career. We are all proud of him. National airport bodies are an anomaly. Airports in future...

Seanad: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland Bill 2014: Second Stage (15 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House. The deadline for submitting amendments was 1 p.m., so if some of the amendments I have submitted have been answered in the Minister's speech, it is because I did not know what was going to be in his speech. What the Minister is doing is important. We know our banking system was not fit for purpose and that it had the faults Senator D'Arcy has just...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. I was glad to see that the glowing tributes paid to him last week had made such an impression on the Taoiseach that he made the correct decision. As the Minister had answered all of our points on Committee Stage, I did not resubmit amendments on Report Stage. Regulatory capture, one of the issues we discussed, is a significant feature of the economy. When I left on...