Results 2,841-2,860 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: What happened in Limerick was an exceptional event, but there was recent flooding in Waterford which caused rail services to be withdrawn. Perhaps the Minister of State might take a look at that issue. He mentioned successes in Clonmel, Kilkenny, Fermoy, Mallow and Ennis. The Minister of State has made an important point, that coasts change. It would take an immense investment to change...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (12 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome all Tom's friends and relations who are in the Gallery. In the university Senators' offices we have a fantastic connection with the Kingdom. These insights into Tom Fitzgerald come from Seamus, Dónal, Joe, Aoife, Frank and Norah. They said his character was moulded by two very strong women - his mother, Nell Brien, and his wife, Bridie. He was a strong republican who was...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I note that the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has said there is no justification for an aviation strike at present. This would do serious damage to the country as Cork, Shannon and Dublin airports would be affected. We are trying to revive tourism and business in the country and we are more dependent on air transport than any other member state of the European Union. The basis...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for his reply. We may have been reading different newspapers but there was one case where the rank of the garda who authorised the checkpoint was an issue. I am sure the Minister has access to more authoritative information on that. While I will not press the amendment, I am struck by how the Garda management structure is extremely narrow. As there are only 158...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 10: In page 19, between lines 17 and 18, to insert the following: “23. Section 81 of the Act of 2010 is amended by substituting for subsection (7)(a) the following:“(7)(a) The Minister for Justice and Law Reform may by an agreement in writing entered into with any person, upon such terms and conditions as may be specified in the agreement, which shall...

Seanad: Public Sector Reform: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House and I wish him well in his endeavours. The Minister stated the pay bill fell from €17.5 billion in 2009 to €14.1 billion, and we have managed to do the job with 30,000 fewer people on the payroll. This reform deserves credit. We had to do it, and we still have a debt to GDP ratio of 120%. When we lobbied our way into this situation we used...

Seanad: Public Sector Reform: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Public Sector Reform: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: There is a fear every piece of paper will go through a massive building in Athlone and people will not be able to just go around the corner to get something.

Seanad: Public Sector Reform: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I am glad to have the Minister's reassurance on this. A series of public expenditure reforms have been implemented to bring greater structure, scrutiny and openness to budgeting and I support the Minister on this. He has made progress in his reports on getting outputs instead of the traditional budgeting, whereby spending more gives Ministers a speech to make when they are cutting the...

Seanad: Public Sector Reform: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: No, but I am ceding to Senator Feargal Quinn.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: Go raibh maith agat.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Leader.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: With regard to the Order of Business, I ask that No. 3 be taken at Committee Stage rather than continuing to Report Stage as is on the schedule of business circulated to us. We had a most valuable discussion on that with the Minister, covering issues such as the fact that the fatality rate on Irish roads increased by 17% in the past year. I am hoping it is not a trend away from a very good...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister and I will comply. Some constituents of mine said they asked a local authority engineer if he had consulted the NRA but it did not seem to occur to him that he had to do so. I am very pleased the Minister has made it quite clear that he should have done so because my constituents were unhappy about it. I will withdraw the amendment.

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: A suggestion made by Senator Sheahan the other day was that pedestrians on dimly lit routes should also wear those reflective jackets. When the Minister is discussing this with the key organisations, he might include that on the agenda.

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: It is not. I thank the Minister. It was important that Senators had this discussion with him because we want to be on the frontier in terms of where these developments take place. We downloaded the information on Volvo airbags from the Popular Science website. Volvo will have them, and it has been the leader, as the Minister has said. We might ask other car manufacturers to examine the...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 8: In page 16, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:“Safety of Road Infrastructure 14. In accordance with Section 17 of the Roads Act, 1993, the overall responsibility for the planning and supervision of works for the construction and maintenance of national roads shall include safety. The Minister may, by regulations request the National Roads...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 7: In page 16, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “14. (1) All mechanically propelled vehicles where the operator is—(a) the holder of a driving licence licensing the holder to drive a vehicle in the category C, C1, D, D1, EB, EC, EC1, ED, ED1 and W while driving, attempting to drive or being in charge of such a vehicle, (b) the holder of a...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: Evidence has emerged in Germany about the safety aspects of smoking in cars in the report, Rauchen in Autos. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia implemented legislation in this regard from 1 May 2013 but I accept we are evolving all the time. If our research does not indicate it is a problem in Ireland, we will keep in touch with what the Germans are saying. That is fine and the Minister...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (5 Feb 2014)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister. We also found that a high percentage of vehicles using the M50 toll were not on the books for road tax purposes. I will support the Minister fully in finding out these people and getting them within the law. I thank the Minister for his clarification on the 40% figure. I am not pressing the amendment. I thank the Minister for his replies.