Results 3,761-3,780 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Sean Barrett: There should be an onus on them to opt out. If they no longer wish to answer questions from Deputies and Senators, they should have to make that case to the Minister.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Sean Barrett: Do incumbents get special treatment?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Sean Barrett: They do not. Is it the case, therefore, that everybody is included?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Sean Barrett: Regulatory bodies seem to have acquired a status that allows them to make decisions that cause serious damage to customers. I refer the customers of airports and energy companies, for example. These bodies operate in a secret world. The relevant parent Departments have long since given up trying to control them. I think the OECD referred to this phenomenon as regulatory capture. Can the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Freedom of Information (Amendment) Bill: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (10 Jan 2013)

Sean Barrett: There has to some caution in this regard. The book by Dr. Maurice Manning and Dr. Muiris MacCarthaigh mentioned that an inquiry into railway signalling, the cost of which had increased from €16 million to €64 million, was one of the victims of the Abbeylara judgment. It is now frozen. I appreciate that the Minister has always tried to counteract that judgment. I understand...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: No. I warmly welcome the Minister's reassurance regarding the family home.

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I accept the Cathaoirleach's ruling on amendment No. 7 but it may be helpful to point out to the Minister that the Cathaoirleach's reason for ruling it out of order was because he feared it would put a charge on the Exchequer. However, the object of the amendment was to provide revenue for the Exchequer on the basis of the difference in valuations between zoned and unzoned land. In...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 8: In page 11, before section 3, but in Part 1, to insert the following new section:?3. - (1) This Act shall not in any way prejudice the integrity of the family home. (2) The ability for the liable person to pay the property tax liability should be taken into account such that the Revenue Commissioners put in place multiple approaches to payment, including deferral...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I accept the Cathaoirleach's ruling on amendment No. 7 but it may be helpful to point out to the Minister that the Cathaoirleach's reason for ruling it out of order was because he feared it would put a charge on the Exchequer. However, the object of the amendment was to provide revenue for the Exchequer on the basis of the difference in valuations between zoned and unzoned land. In...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 8: In page 11, before section 3, but in Part 1, to insert the following new section:?3. - (1) This Act shall not in any way prejudice the integrity of the family home. (2) The ability for the liable person to pay the property tax liability should be taken into account such that the Revenue Commissioners put in place multiple approaches to payment, including deferral...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I will not be pressing amendments Nos. 4 and 6 and thank the Minister for the clarity of his reply. I hope that in time it will allay fears throughout the country. It is a pity the people cannot actually hear what the Minister is saying because he has put many fears at rest.

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for his reply and I welcome what he said. If, as happened in the past, a banker were to become deranged and pay a wild price for a house in a neighbourhood located not too far from the Oireachtas, I presume this will not affect the liabilities of everyone else in said neighbourhood. From what the Minister indicated, I understand that the price paid by the banker would...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I congratulate Senator van Turnhout.

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 4: In page 10, line 7, to delete "the" and substitute "a distortion-free".My amendments refer to the price in the "open market". I suppose the background to this one, which is offered in the spirit of suggestion to the Minister if it is of use to him in the finance Bill or elsewhere, and on which I will not seek a vote, is to ask the Minister what is the open market...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Fifth Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: I wish to speak on the respite care grant. A special edition of the census of population reported last month that there are 187,000 carers, of whom 72,000 are men and 114,000 are women, amounting to 4.1% of the population. This number increased by 22,000, or 13%, between the 2006 census and the 2011 census. They are heavily represented in low-income areas of the country, with 5% in Mayo,...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: Why is it out of order?

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: We were not allowed to discuss it last night either. It is a shame that a discussion on respite care was avoided by the Minister at every opportunity. She filibustered all day yesterday and we are not allowed to discuss the issue in this House.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: That is a shame.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Report Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Sean Barrett: The Minister can change her mind, for example.