Results 381-400 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: In 2010, Mr. Gormley, in his carbon Budget Statement, stated his Bill would provide "a strong legislative framework [to support the] transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable [economy]". Consequently, there are papers over in the Custom House that presumably have been gathering dust for the past five years. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: It is probably redundant at this stage, as the Minister of State has replied on quantification. While I remain a supporter of quantification, there is no point in going through the same debate twice. That is what I was seeking to do there and consequently, with the permission of the Chair, I will not move amendment No. 8

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 9:In page 7, line 39, to delete “to have regard to” and substitute “comply”. At present, section 4(7)(a) refers to the need to have regard to existing obligations "under the law of the European Union". I believe we should comply with our existing obligations under the law of the European Union and that is why I tabled this amendment. While I...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I again thank the Minister of State. If a Member of this House is stopped by a member of An Garda Síochána, he or she is required to comply with speed limits; not just to state he or she had regard to them, saw the sign but just kept on going. A culture of compliance is needed in this area and as I stated, probably prematurely the last time, I will not seek a division on this...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 11:In page 9, line 1, to delete “laid before Dáil Éireann” and substitute “adopted by resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas”. I seek to amend section 4(10), which states, "A national mitigation plan shall be laid before Dáil Éireann as soon as may be after it is approved by the Government." As I wish to involve the...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I echo the observations of Senator Cullinane. We have a parliamentary democracy and citizens have serious concerns about what is happening to our environment but we have a serious non-response from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government which does not want to be called to account. I am so proud to be a member of this Oireachtas. We will leave office shortly and...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 12:In page 9, line 13, to delete "24 months" and substitute "6 months". The purpose this amendment is to substitute the timeframe of "6 months" for "24 months". The 24 months timeframe refers to the time that can be taken from the passing of the Act for the submission to Government of a plan to be known as the national climate change adaptation framework. The question...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I note that page 2 of a recent document entitled "Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers" states:Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and the ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow [...] have diminished, and [the] sea level has risen. It should not...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: No. We have discussed the role of the Oireachtas. I disagree with what the Minister of State said the last time but I do not require her to say it repeatedly. Both Houses should be involved but we have already had that discussion so I do not wish to move the amendment.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 14:In page 10, line 11, to delete “Dáil Éireann” and substitute “both Houses of the Oireachtas”. It is the same principle. I believe the Oireachtas should be involved. We have had the debate and the vote on it so I do not wish to press these two amendments.

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 17:In page 12, line 6, after “relevant” to insert “published”. The subsection refers to "relevant scientific or technical advice". It is under the heading to the section which states, "Matters of which account is to be taken, and consultation, for the purposes ofsections5and 6." It is a matter that, as I have said, has wide implications for...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 18:In page 12, line 15, to delete “may” and substitute “shall”. The Government "may" consult with the advisory council. This is a kind of "shrug your shoulders" concept. What is the point of having an advisory council if the Government will not consult it? That is what it is there for. A view has been expressed in this debate that policy...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: It is. We were assured this body would have parity with the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, which the Minister, Deputy Noonan, quite happily consults with. There is dialogue between them but it does not diminish the very high standing of the Minister, Deputy Noonan, in the Oireachtas or in the country. This is why we have advisory bodies. The dialogue could be creative and, obviously, the...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015: Committee Stage (21 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I move amendment No. 19:In page 12, to delete lines 30 to 35. I propose to delete the first four members of the advisory council. We must have independence of thought and action. People within the broad bureaucracy seem to act in union. That was a feature of the banking crisis, where they called those who disagreed with them the contrarians and marginalised them. That kind of consensus...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Services (20 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I, too, welcome the Minister. The last time I met him in person was at the funeral in Dundalk last Thursday. I was with him this morning via the use of technology during his interview on "Morning Ireland" on the care of people in hospitals outside the jurisdiction. I tabled this issue for discussion in the Commencement debate having read in a newspaper article that Baggot Street Hospital...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Services (20 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister as always. I am concerned that the big increase in the city centre population is not being factored into much of our planning for the future of the city centre. In addition, those who work in the city centre need access to hospitals.As a person who lived in the city centre for a long time, I am aware that hospitals such as the Adelaide had a significant place in the...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Hospital Services (20 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister for giving his experience as a hospital doctor which is better than that of any economists.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: I echo what Senator Bacik said about Professor Philip Lane and the tributes paid to him by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, as he assumes the office of Governor of the Central Bank of Ireland. It is a quarter of a century ago that he came to my scholarship class before going on to Harvard and Columbia. I am sure he will bring many talents to his new post. In the presence of...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: -----particularly when one considers the €64 billion that was secured for the banks on 29 September 2008. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Simon Harris, heard that debate and could confirm that nobody supported what was done. Whether or not one likes privatisation is not really the issue. I did not like this particular one and have opposed it in this House....

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2015)

Sean Barrett: Yes. As my colleagues, Senators Norris and Darragh O'Brien, both indicated, it should be spent on the pensions. The Government has rewarded the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport for the way it treated the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications by giving it another €350 million of pocket money to spend on electric trains and whatever else it wants. Connectivity is...