Results 2,581-2,600 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I wish the new Ministers every success in their posts and thank the departing Ministers, Deputies Pat Rabbitte and Jimmy Deenihan, for the courtesy they have shown in this House. I join Senator Ivana Bacik in welcoming the appointment of former President, Mary Robinson, to the role of UN Special Envoy on Climate Change. I welcome the fact that the 12 July celebrations in the North passed off...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: The section deals with financial services. I am sure the House endorses the Minister's efforts in respect of financial services and discussions with the Central Bank where things have been going appallingly. Banks are down for €64 billion, insurance companies have closed, including another one this week, all the building societies have disappeared, many credit unions are in trouble...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister. I agree with Senator O'Brien's very generous tributes to the Minister, which are deserved. We echo those sentiments. It is interesting that both of us are opposing section 83 for completely opposite reasons; Senator O'Brien wants more in it and I want elements removed.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: It demonstrates the difficulty for the Minister, who must engage the wisdom of Solomon to satisfy us.

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Section 83 has ten pages and approximately 4,000 words meddling in the grocery business under the illusion that it is an uncompetitive business, which it is not. The existence of new entrants is one of the basic criteria for competition to work. Two new entrants, Aldi and Lidl, have entered the Irish grocery market and have approximately one fifth of it. There are at least eight completely...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: This section deals with the media. The media in Ireland is highly competitive and, therefore, I question whether we need it in a competition and consumer protection Bill. Listed in the Institute of Public Administration Yearbook and Diary 2014, pages 275 to 291, are 17 national papers, 60 regional papers, nine free sheets, 33 radio stations, four TV stations, 240 periodicals, ranging from...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister. The Minister referred to the history of this issue, which goes back a long time. There used to be a fear, almost paranoia, that imported newspapers would dominate the home newspapers. There was a certain amount of media self-obsession. There are 363 media outlets listed in the Institute of Public Administration Yearbook and Diary, that invaluable publication. I am...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister and I will not press the amendment. We know where the problem is and the Minister has eloquently described the problem of regulatory capture. The producers have been dominant. The reason we could not give Cork Airport autonomy recently was because airport management love building terminals and one was built for €168 million and we do not know what to do with it....

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Again, I thank the Minister. The Minister mentioned water. We tried to get a consumer dimension into the Irish Water legislation. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, was badly advised not to accept the amendments proposed in the Seanad by Senators Cullinane and Ó Clochartaigh, me and others. Recently, Ben Dunne said that if he had a shop and 40% of the stock disappeared, he would...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 5: In page 23, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following:“(11) (a) Any body outlined in subsection (10) and/or any arrangement shall be considered to exhibit a reasonable bias that can be considered by a reasonable person to constitute a pattern of action or inaction that contravenes the public interest and favours a regulatory body or regulatee. (b) Where...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I am aware that the previous Competition Authority sent observations to the Taxi Regulator indicating that it believed that certain practices were anti-consumer. It also sent observations to the National Transport Authority on liberalisation of the bus market. As far as I can see the advices from the Competition Authority were ignored. I raised some of those at the Joint Committee on...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: We have two people rowing in the same direction. I support the Minister. If he is satisfied that he has the necessary powers, because we share the same goals, I will not push the amendment. I thank him for his considered reply. If he is of the opinion that he does not need those powers and will not be obstructed in his goal of making the Irish economy more competitive, I accept his...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 2: "(10) In this section, a public body will be subject to the same consumer protection requirements as those outlined by the Consumer Protection Act 2007.".Members will have noted in many cases when they go on to public websites that there is a custom to refer to the users of those services as its "customers". If a service is not delivered to a person, as a...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for his reply. If he is satisfied that the appropriate protections are in place and that there is customer focus in the Bill, I will not push the amendment. I hope people read the Minister's response which we accept and endorse. It is an attempt to improve the quality of public services by giving people rights. I thank the Minister for his response and I will not...

Seanad: Competition and Consumer Protection Bill 2014: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 1: In page 13, between lines 13 and 14, to insert the following:“(r) the Commission, where a reasonable doubt exists about competitiveness of a market and/or economic sector, may open an exploratory investigation in the contestability of a market and submit a proposal for further action to the Minister or any other Minister of the Government to ensure a competitive...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I am responding to the Leader's wonderful invocation of country and western music yesterday.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Should the concerts now proceed under the theme of 40 shades of green backs, the theme music should be Johnny Cash. The Taoiseach recently announced to some German industrialists that his first car was a Volkswagen Beetle. Should it not have been a 57 Chevrolet?

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: May I alert Members to a matter arising from a meeting yesterday of the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform? I refer to the Setanta Insurance Company, which is licensed in Malta and has left 75,000 policyholders in the lurch, the cost of which may yet again be imposed upon the Irish consumer and taxpayer. The Leader and I have discussed that matter in this Chamber....

Seanad: Environmental Protection Agency: Motion (9 Jul 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and I give him my best wishes in all fields of endeavour. One of the things I noted about environmental scientists in TCD, which I liked, was men and women wearing Wellingtons as they headed off to do the work in the field. I was surprise to read in the EPA report that the site visits to establish air emissions are carried out by external contractors. Why do the...