Results 281-300 of 984 for speaker:Aidan Davitt

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I have to disagree with Senator Higgins.The fundamental point we were talking about and which this section speaks to is the first-time buyers grant which, if memory serves me correctly, is up to €30,000. In rural Ireland if that was not there, houses would not be built at present. That is a fact. I have gone through pricing models and can stand over that and can have that argument...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: While this is a noble and good idea, unfortunately I do not know how practical it would be, as I am sure the Minister of State will lead us to understand. Wealth is highly mobile nowadays, which is why gold has doubled its value in the past three years and this has fed into a significant increase in the value in minerals, gold and stocks of that sort this year in the face of the Covid-19...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Maternity Leave (9 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I welcome the Minister of State and I wish her continued success in her portfolio. I urge her to continue all of the good work she is going in that regard. This matter relates to maternity leave for county councillors. I raised this matter in the previous Seanad. If my memory is correct, Fianna Fáil backed a motion on this issue in a previous Seanad. It is an issue that has been...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Maternity Leave (9 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: The Minister of State could do without reading the rest of it.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Maternity Leave (9 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: To be fair, we have a very proactive Minister of State with responsibility for local government and he has some cutting-edge legislation on councillors coming very soon, I hope. We are all very hopeful. This needs to be addressed, and the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, has shown he has the ability to deal with it. I ask him to be brave and grasp this nettle and deal with the matter...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Financial Services Union: Discussion. (8 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: They were temporary closures.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Financial Services Union: Discussion. (8 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I thank the Chairman for his strong actions earlier in terms of writing to the Central Bank again and also to Ulster Bank through NatWest. The Central Bank's arrogance towards this committee is disgraceful. It has no sound or track record, as alluded to by Deputy Durkan. It has anything but that. During the last crisis, when all the money was pumped into most of the banks, Ulster Bank was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Financial Services Union: Discussion. (8 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: Does Mr. O'Connell foresee many bank closures through what AIB is proposing?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Financial Services Union: Discussion. (8 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I certainly hope that is the case.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Planning Framework (1 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I appreciate the Minister of State coming here today. It has been quite a while since we met in County Kilkenny. I congratulate him on his elevation to this great office. The Project Ireland 2040 plan goes a long way back and much work has been done on it. Its inception was to iron out some of the problems that may have arisen in the previous plan. It is not just from a development point...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Planning Framework (1 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: Over the last number of years, we built between 15,000 and 18,000 houses. We will have Covid-19 this year and it will be something similar.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Planning Framework (1 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I thank the Acting Chairman. I am finished now. We will not hit the target. Unless we look at villages and town such as these and ease up in settled areas, there will be a serious problem and it will come back to haunt all of us. It is evident in the housing market already.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Planning Framework (1 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I thank the Minister of State. It was a comprehensive answer but there is a problem, which I can tell him as a fact and he can take it out and look at it. In Westmeath, the zoning happening is mainly in Athlone and Mullingar. In all the regional towns, any little projects like that which could be looked at have not been considered this year. The councillors had to use their practicality...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: National Planning Framework (1 Dec 2020)

Aidan Davitt: The national planning framework should be tweaked more towards those smaller towns and villages. They are not part of it. They are numbered and categorised but they really are the orphans in this process. I refer to towns such as Castlepollard and Kinnegad. They should get more priority. We should look at this. It is within the remit of the Minister of State.

Seanad: Planning and Development Bill 2020: Second Stage (25 Nov 2020)

Aidan Davitt: Before the Minister winds up, I will compliment him on all the good work he has done in this Department. He has shown great initiative. He has been bounced around by bad luck, as has everyone else, as a result of the pandemic. It certainly has not helped the Minister to fulfil some of his expectations but I know he is working hard to maximise output in the housing industry. This...

Seanad: Recognition of Irish Military Service at Jadotville in 1961: Statements (11 Nov 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I welcome the Minister here today. I certainly welcome the promised review. It is imperative that the committee is given a free path to make its own findings and recommendations. As the Minister mentioned, the composition of the committee is most important. As the Minister stated, two reviews where held in 1962 and 1965. In the fullness of time the narrative and perspective can change....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Nov 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I echo the sentiments of Senators Byrne and Dooley. I have discussed with the Deputy Leader herself the matter of shooting since the season has come in on 1 November and I acknowledge she will raise it with the relevant Minister. I appreciate that. She indicated that to me earlier. As for Senator Burke's comments and the WHO stance on Taiwan, and other Senators have echoed those thoughts,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I want to raise an important matter regarding the conveyancing of property in Ireland, and to highlight the length of time it currently takes to complete a property sale. I am aware that Members and the House have discussed different technical issues in this area on a number of occasions. A new initiative has been spearheaded by the Institute of Professional Auctioneers and Valuers, IPAV....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Sep 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I agree with Senator McGahon, who raised an issue on the soldiers who fought at Jadotville. It is a matter I have raised in the House on several occasions. It would be apt if the Minister came to the House to discuss this issue. A lot of work has been done on it and progress has been very slow. Some of the people who were at the battle in Katanga have passed away recently. The second...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Jul 2020)

Aidan Davitt: I wish to echo the sentiments expressed this morning, which some Members might have heard, by John Horan, the president of the GAA. I have a background in the GAA and a number of Members have a good knowledge about clubs and county grounds. In my case, I have seen games in Cusack Park in Mullingar, Westmeath, attended by up to 15,000 people. The GAA has been more than responsible during...