Results 3,101-3,120 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Fewer Fine Gael politicians.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Will the Senator pay €20 million to go up?

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I say to his lordship that there are 550 amendments to prove the contrary. When one looks through his biography, it states that in 2008, Roy Hattersley appeared in a documentary on the DVD for the "Dr. Who" serial. "Dr. Who do you think you are"? is my response to his intervention in the affairs of this House. Baron Hattersley is the biographer of Lloyd George, who set up the Senate with...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I think so. I think The Gathering has welcomed one person who seems to have landed in the wrong country. I have asked my constituent and colleague in Northern Ireland, Dr. Jeff Dudgeon, to take up with Richard Haass and Dr. Meghan O'Sullivan who are currently investigating the causes of unrest and distress in Northern Ireland, the way the Taoiseach treats my Northern Ireland constituents....

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: There is one Björn every minute, I think.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: In view of the Government's proposal to reform the Dáil - which we are supposed to be obstructing in this House, which is the reason it has to be abolished - I draw the attention of the House to a message that arrived this morning at 10.13 a.m. inviting Deputies who wish to make amendments on Report Stage of the Taxi Regulation Bill to submit them by 11 a.m., as the debate is taking...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: This is a highly flawed Bill which requires amendment. It is yet another example of the contempt of the Executive for both Houses of Parliament. I note the intervention in a domestic debate about the future of this House by Baron Hattersley of Sparkbrook. I do not know if he is sparking on all cylinders, but he says today that the Seanad is like the House of Lords, as no-one pays a blind...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Matters Relating to the Economy: Discussion with Governor of Central Bank (25 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: On the issue of loan-to-value and debt-to-income ratios, now that this hopefully is being done much more sensibly than in the past, one could state in retrospect that by such rules, a loan was reckless. One could state there is no point in pursuing a case to get €340,000 out of a person who has an income of €34,000 and that this was reckless as defined by the rules now in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Matters Relating to the Economy: Discussion with Governor of Central Bank (25 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Certainly not. However, I believe there is a problem in this regard, which members may discuss in a different context. Certainly, however, the witnesses were impressive in their lack of acknowledgement of the damage they have done to the country. An absence of basic economics was a feature of all the representatives of the banks who appeared before the joint committee and it would be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Matters Relating to the Economy: Discussion with Governor of Central Bank (25 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome my former colleague from Trinity College. When we started out, were letters ever intended to be part of resolution? The reason I ask that question is that when the banks were before the committee they said that this was a really good trick and that they invented the idea of the letters so as to postpone matters. There was almost a smirk on the faces of the bankers. A letter...

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Mr. David Begg (25 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I join the Leader and others in welcoming Mr. David Begg. It is a reunion, in a sense, because for several years on Friday mornings we heard the thoughts of Mr. Begg at the National Economic and Social Council, NESC. They were always carefully prepared and forcefully argued proposals for economic improvement. The tutorial has resumed, updated from the period when I left the NESC. At that...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Senator John Crown was in Galway last night and spoke well. It is hard to overlook the presence of the Senator at a meeting, but I am afraid I did so. The record should show he was present.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I am pleased to inform the House that the literary and debating society in NUI Galway last night voted that the House should be retained. Senator Naughten and I were the Members of the House who spoke. The university has a superb tradition of oratory, not least the fact that President Michael D Higgins was the auditor in 1965, then came to this House and went on to the Dáil and...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the election of the first woman bishop in either the Church of Ireland or the Anglican Communion in the United Kingdom. Bishop Patricia Storey came from Belfast to Trinity College, Dublin, and then went to Derry. She will be coming back to Meath and Kildare. Her appointment is a significant advancement for women and is much to be welcomed. I note that the other House is today...

Seanad: Turf-cutting: Statements (19 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister whose visits I always enjoy. I hope his message is well received. He is a very reasonable man. He has made the offers to recloate and has mentioned the bogs where relocation is possible and the 15 tonnes of turf to be delivered. That is a reasonable offer which should be accepted and negotiations should take place. I welcome all he has done in that regard. Part of...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: Two matters arise on foot of yesterday's Order of Business. The first relates to the appearance of a 20-page property supplement in one of the daily newspapers. As I informed the Leader yesterday, there is a need to ensure banking reform. We have tabled two items on the Order Paper, Nos. 26 and 29, which deal with that matter. The same accountants, bankers and auctioneers who created the...

Seanad: Junior Cycle Reform: Motion (18 Sep 2013)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and wish him well in his reforms. The first issue I wish to address is the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment, the IPA note on which states that the Minister appoints the chairperson and the 25 member council. Is that an issue we should look at?