Results 21-40 of 487 for at speaker:Pat Casey

Seanad: Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2023: Second Stage (29 Jun 2023)

Pat Casey: I welcome both Ministers of State to the House. It is nice to have the two Ministers responsible for the introduction of the Bill in the Chamber. There are no excuses for any more delays. I welcome Councillor Murphy as well. The EU already boasts some of the most stringent consumer protection regulations in the world. Recent incidents such as the dieselgate scandal, however, have...

Seanad: Representative Actions for the Protection of the Collective Interests of Consumers Bill 2023: Second Stage (29 Jun 2023)

Pat Casey: Next Tuesday at 1 p.m.

Seanad: Local Government Matters: Statements (28 Jun 2023)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State. Most of us in this House started our political careers as councillors. We have an understanding of the work they do and the role they play in communities. We must recognise that role. I do not agree with everything Senator Keogan said but I agree there has been a diminishment of the powers of councillors, not just under this Government but under previous...

Seanad: Local Government Matters: Statements (28 Jun 2023)

Pat Casey: When it comes to rural planning, we must remember that we are dealing with people who want to build homes on their own land. That is not the same as development and it should be looked at in a slightly different way.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Jun 2023)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Leader. I wish to raise two issues, one of which relates to some of our larger or medium-sized towns in rural Ireland where there is no internal public transport link. While we have transport to destinations such as Dublin, Cork or Galway, there is no internal bus service within those towns, whether that might be used by children going to school in the morning, by older people...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jun 2023)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Deputy Leader. I am returning to an issue that I have raised before regarding the national planning framework and how it arrived at its population growth figures, and, more importantly, how those figures were distributed regionally and on a county-wide basis. Something I predicted is now happening live in County Wicklow, as in the first planning application for 98 houses has...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (16 May 2023)

Pat Casey: ...by EirGrid regarding the successful bidders in the auction for projects under the renewable electricity support scheme, ORESS. There were four successful applicants, with the projects set to generate more than 3 GW of power and feed into nearly 2.5 million homes in Ireland. It was a mixed day for Wicklow. We had a successful bid in respect of Codling, which will deliver 1.3 GW of power...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2023)

Pat Casey: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (4 May 2023)

Pat Casey: As all present are aware, I am involved in the industry. The picture portrayed by Senator Higgins is not true across the board. There is a need to put that on the record. Sadly, VAT is a blunt instrument. It is very inflexible in terms of how it can be applied. The reduced rate was brought in to make business viable. It was not necessarily brought in for it to be passed on directly to...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2023: Committee Stage (4 May 2023)

Pat Casey: Next Tuesday at 12 noon.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2023: Second Stage (25 Apr 2023)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. We must first compliment the Government on its management of the economy. This was noted when the 2023 budget was announced in September 2022. The Government clearly stated that if another intervention were needed, it would be in a position to so do concerning the cost-of-living crisis. This is exactly what we are doing today. We are...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Mar 2023)

Pat Casey: I also congratulate the Leas-Chathaoirleach on the work he has done. Anybody who knows Senator Mark Daly knows who Thomas Meagher is - that is for sure. The issue I raise has been raised by a number of Senators in recent weeks and is very topical at the moment. It relates to the short-term letting legislation that is before the House. It would be no harm for the House to have a broader...

Seanad: Report on Working Conditions and Skills Shortages in Ireland's Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Motion (22 Feb 2023)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank Deputy Niamh Smyth and Senator Carrigy for the report. I acknowledge the work on the 9% VAT rate, which was critically important and much appreciated. Like Senator Conway, I would love a debate on the wider issue of VAT on the hospitality sector and where it should lie. Drink needs to be brought into it. We must look realistically at where the...

Seanad: Report on Working Conditions and Skills Shortages in Ireland's Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Motion (22 Feb 2023)

Pat Casey: Senator Gavan is right. I am just saying the hospitality sector has challenges that no other sector has. We talk about unsocial hours, weekends and night work. That is the industry. We must work those hours. If we do not work those hours, there is no industry. We talk about seasonal work and irregular hours. That is the industry. That might not be the case in cities where there is a...

Seanad: Report on Working Conditions and Skills Shortages in Ireland's Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Motion (22 Feb 2023)

Pat Casey: Let us see. The problem with reports is they change every year. Let us look at a report from 2021 from the Workplace Relations Commission. There were 38 cases relating to the hospitality sector and nine breaches, 24%, were recorded. The breaches in the administrative and support sector amounted to 38%; in agriculture it was 54%; in construction it was 41%; in electrical contracting it was...

Seanad: Report on Working Conditions and Skills Shortages in Ireland's Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Motion (22 Feb 2023)

Pat Casey: Yes. If we did not, we would not be in business. It is as simple as that. Like every other industry at this time, we are struggling to get staff.

Seanad: Report on Working Conditions and Skills Shortages in Ireland's Tourism and Hospitality Sector: Motion (22 Feb 2023)

Pat Casey: If Senator Gavan wants to start talking about input costs, then let us go there. We can up our wages if he wants, but there would be a knock-on effect on the cost to the consumer. It is fine coming in here and thinking this is easily resolved, but it is not. If Senator Gavan looks at the financial viability of many hotels in Ireland, he will see it is not there. We must bring some realism...

Seanad: Moving Towards Zero Tolerance of Violence against Women: Statements (9 Feb 2023)

Pat Casey: The Minister is welcome to the House. I will start with a point made by Senator Ward. It is very hard to stand up here as a man to talk about sexual violence against women, but on the other hand, we should take the lead on it and drive the reform process. I wish to focus on the title of the debate: "Moving Towards Zero Tolerance of Violence Against Women". The question is how quickly we...

Seanad: Central Bank (Individual Accountability Framework) Bill 2022: Second Stage (8 Feb 2023)

Pat Casey: It is my first time to greet the Minister of State. I welcome her to the House and congratulate her on her appointment. As the saying goes, it is never too late. Today is a good day but we all know it is long overdue. Several years after the Central Bank recommendation to make individual decision makers and financial institutions responsible for their actions, we now have a Bill that will...

Seanad: Credit Union (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (6 Dec 2022)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. He referred to the credit union movement as an integral part of the community, and that is what it is. Whenever we speak of the movement in this House or the Lower House, we all speak of it in a positive manner because it is an integral part of the community. If it retains those values, the Bill will add to that service it provides. The pillar...