Results 4,201-4,220 of 4,414 for speaker:Sean Barrett

Seanad: Order of Business (6 Mar 2012)

Sean Barrett: Our dealing with the request to set up more quangos without debate does not correspond with the problems people feel, not least in a country where unemployment has risen from 4% to 14% in a three to four-year period because of European mismanagement of the currency.

Seanad: Action Plan for Jobs 2012: Statements, Questions and Answers (6 Mar 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. It is not the first time we have had such a discussion. I recall meeting the Minister's brother when we were writing a better way to plan the nation's finances and I then served on the group that produced the Culliton report some time after that. The approach has been around for some time. I am delighted the Minister is doing this every year. I encourage him to...

Seanad: Action Plan for Jobs 2012: Statements, Questions and Answers (6 Mar 2012)

Sean Barrett: We should develop a focus on enterprise. The innovation report's penultimate recommendation was to develop some measure of return on the immense research and development effort that we are undertaking. There is none currently. Bord snip nua asked for it, but none has been provided. Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, must get involved with economists. It is not a kick-and-hope situation....

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2012)

Sean Barrett: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Mar 2012)

Sean Barrett: Last week Goodbodys and AECOM published a review of the Irish railway network, although dated October 2011. It shows up a serious problem that we spent €559 million on putting in place four railway tracks to Kildare, that the passenger business was down by 25% and the freight business, between 2003 and 2009, was down 61%. This is another example of the reason capital projects should be...

Seanad: Standing Order 18: Motion (23 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: What we are debating reflects the evolution of Irish society. We have moved away from dreadful events such as the penal laws and insulting 12 July marches and so on. We have emerged from that sectarianism and we are tolerant in our religious beliefs. On reflection, people engaged in prayer are not a threat to anybody else. The prayer encompasses some very beautiful language. As a new...

Seanad: Standing Order 18: Motion (23 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I do and for her successors. I thought her visit to Ireland was extremely important in the development of this country.

Seanad: Standing Order 18: Motion (23 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: The founding by her ancestor at Trinity College Dublin was a major contribution to education not only in this country but worldwide and I am proud to represent it. I share that with Senator Norris. There is no doubt the mixture of religion and politics has been toxic in Ireland. I recall when a former member, Dr. Maurice Hayes, was conferred with a honorary degree in Trinity College on 12...

Seanad: Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State. I endorse the comments of Senators Hayden, Darragh O'Brien and Michael D'Arcy. We had a very good debate the last day. We see the IMF as part of the post-war architecture that prevented the period since then being a rerun of the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s. The IMF is a much-reformed organisation, which helped it to get support from parts of the House it might...

Seanad: Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (23 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I agree. No one believes anymore in the model of the national airline owned by the State. Olympic Air might be the last one left. It is a purely commercial activity and we now have the biggest airline in Europe, Ryanair, with over 80 million passengers per year, which is two and a half times the size of British Airways, which has been privatised. The proposition in the Culleton review of...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I congratulate the Reverend Roy Patton from Ballybay, County Monaghan, who was elected moderator of the Presbyterian Church at the weekend. He combined an upbringing in the stony grey soil of Monaghan with the academic groves of Trinity College Dublin to become the national leader of an all-Ireland body. One of the best developments in this country in recent times is the improvement in the...

Seanad: Wind Turbines Bill 2012: Second Stage (22 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. When the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Deputy Rabbitte, was speaking in the House on 1 February, he stated: Towards the end of 2011, the International Energy Agency carried out its four-yearly review of Irish energy policy. The review includes a detailed assessment of the efficiency of the Irish electricity and...

Seanad: Health (Provision of General Practitioner Services) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (22 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister. We said everything on this matter on the last day and the warmth of the support for the Minister in this measure is reflected by everyone. As Senator Burke said, the competition aspect of what we did previously must have been open to challenge. This measure will allow young, enthusiastic new doctors to practise and it may be just what the health service needs. To...

Seanad: Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (21 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House. He said this Bill was uncontentious in the other House and I am sure, as the Minister will have gathered, it has already reached that status here, which is good to see. I note the explanatory memorandum refers to some items of conduct, which had been inadvertently reserved for veterinary practitioners or veterinary nurses. That is an important factor...

Seanad: Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (21 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: The alternative of trying to scramble around to assemble a jury after a case has started revives the Munster tradition - a man was called "Peter the packer", because he had to pack juries. It is better that the list of names should be there and published, with substitutes, before any case begins.

Seanad: Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister to the House. I accept his view on the amendment, but Senator Daly makes an important point. Our initial surge into energy efficiency and green energy has been shown to have been excessive in terms of achieving value for money. The OECD recommended the end of grants for off-shore windmills and the phasing out of grants for windmills on land. It also has doubts about...

Seanad: Energy (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I thank the Minister and wish him every success with his efforts with the glide path model he has described. It might be helpful if it were to be declared by both sides that in the event of a doubling in the world price, a list of specific projects would become worthwhile; and in the event of a further doubling, another set of projects would become worthwhile, etc. Something similar could...

Seanad: Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (14 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I welcome the Minister and I thank him for his contribution. The IMF was a vital institution following the war when architecture was needed to prevent a repeat of the 1930s and, as Senator D'Arcy said, this also included the World Bank, the UN and the International Civil Aviation Organisation. Most of these bodies served us well and there were no reruns of the Second World War. The IMF had...

Seanad: Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (14 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I do not know if this has happened to other Senators and I apologise, but there is a page missing from the copy of the speech that has been distributed.

Seanad: Bretton Woods Agreements (Amendment)(No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (14 Feb 2012)

Sean Barrett: I think it is the second last page. I thank the Minister of State.