Results 4,341-4,360 of 5,171 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I move amendment No. 2:In page 18, lines 16 to 22, to delete all words from and including “other” in line 16 down to and including line 22. I noted Senator Leyden's intervention stating that Fianna Fáil will be supporting the Bill. I am supporting the Bill. I am reminded of what the Taoiseach said in his only address to this House. He spoke of our role and that he...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I have heard what the Minister has said and I know the dilemma he faces. I asked him about constitutional issues and if he had the Attorney General's advice he might share that with us. He did not refer to the Attorney General in his response, which is fair enough. I do not expect him to tell us things he cannot tell us; he is constrained in what he can say here. However, everyone has to...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Corruption Offences) Bill 2017: Committee Stage (16 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I have heard what the Minister has said. I want to be constructive. One gets things done when one is constructive. It is as simple as that. However, it is important to look back at the recommendations in the Mahon report, some of which the Minister is addressing in his justice portfolio and some of which are being addressed by the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government,...

Seanad: European Court Decision: Motion (16 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the visitors to the Chamber. I am mindful of the fact that not all of the people who suffered this terrible miscarriage of justice are here today. That must be a very sad thought but I salute those brave and courageous men who have continued the fight. I hope that as a result of this appeal to the Grand Chamber, if it is successful, this Seanad will perhaps have shone a bright...

Seanad: European Court Decision: Motion (16 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: This morning the Minister, Deputy Coveney, was here to talk on a Commencement matter raised by Senator Gallagher in respect of another horror story and legacy issue from the Troubles of this country and this island, namely, the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Let us remember the victims' families and the people who sought justice for them. Tomorrow is the 44th anniversary of the deaths of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (15 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: Last week, I raised a Commencement matter on labour shortages and the real difficulty for people in the horticultural sector, including the mushroom and soft-root sectors, dairying and meat production. The farming and horticulture community has difficulty getting people to come from outside the European Union due to issues around work permits. There was some discussion with the Minister in...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Work Permits Eligibility (10 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister to the House. This Commencement matter relates to the need for a review of the criteria for issuing permits to farm workers from outside the European Union as a matter of urgency due to the shortage of labour supply. The Minister of State will be aware as a Minister of State who represents rural and urban communities and people that there is a need and a shortage....

Seanad: Commencement Matters (Resumed): Work Permits Eligibility (10 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister of State for the comprehensive report. It is interesting. I was talking to someone in the Irish Farmers' Journal. I told him this was happening today. I will be very happy to go downstairs and put it in the fax I will send to him. It is really important. It is important we communicate that message to the industry. Things are cranking up, certainly in soft fruit...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I wish to raise again services at the National Rehabilitation Hospital, NRH, Dún Laoghaire and the provision of rehabilitation services throughout the country. During my first week in the House, I made it clear that I would make this a key issue and I have raised it at least 13 times. Last week, I received a letter from the Taoiseach about it, and while I appreciate his response and...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Act Review (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I would like to welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly. I raise the need for the Minister to make a statement on the need for legislation governing the long-term detention of people in psychiatric institutions given the recent decision of the Court of Appeal. I supplied the Minister and the office with material that I will go through very briefly,...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Mental Health Act Review (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister. That is all very reasonable. This may be an issue that is appropriate to one of the committees, perhaps the Joint Committee on the Future of Mental Health Care. I intend to talk to Senator Joan Freeman and I know that committee is meeting today. She might try to put this matter on the committee's schedule.It is important that the courts suspended the declaration of...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I take the opportunity to wish the Seanad reform implementation group well in its work and deliberations. I understand its members met briefly today and elected a chairman, my colleague, Senator Michael McDowell. I wish all of them well. It is a difficult job. I presume it is based on the Manning report. I cannot pre-empt it because I do not know what its full terms of reference are....

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: Yesterday I raised an issue in the Seanad of a report that was covered in The Irish Timesabout Donegal. It is an unpublished report called the Mulcahy report and is a report into very serious allegations of corruption in planning in Donegal. The report is on the Minister's desk. I undertook yesterday to seek further details about it. I am now satisfied it has been on the Minister's desk...

Seanad: Local Government Accountability Bill 2018: Second Stage (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I also welcome my independent colleague, Councillor Fiona McLoughlin Healy, to the House. Many councillors from all parties are listening and I acknowledge what Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill has done. Not only has he prepared the Bill, and I was very happy to co-sign it with him and jointly present the Bill here today, but his communication...

Seanad: Local Government Accountability Bill 2018: Second Stage (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I was elected by them and honoured to be elected by them. I received a very good vote from them and I am here to represent them and advocate for councillors and support them in their work. I was a councillor myself and I know what is required to do the job, particularly to do it well. I am happy to stand up and advocate for city and county councillors who work exceptionally hard. The...

Seanad: Local Government Accountability Bill 2018: Second Stage (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I am making the point that this is the case on the Government side. There is no due respect for anyone.

Seanad: Local Government Accountability Bill 2018: Second Stage (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: This is our opportunity to advocate on behalf of elected members. I hope the Minister of State will support the Bill. It is reasonable and fair. I appeal to our colleagues here this evening to stick with it and vote on it, and then go back and ask people why they were not here to support what is critical legislation to support and empower city councillors to do their job.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Local Property Tax: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome Councillor McGinley, who I know well. I acknowledge his work on this issue. I have never made a secret of the fact that I am in favour of a local council tax. We need to be clear and we need to be honest. Local services must be paid for and somebody has to pay for them. I am of the view that everybody must pay some percentage. We are aware that social housing tenants pay no...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Review of Local Property Tax: Discussion (9 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: First, I ask Councillor McGinley to convey our thanks to the council and its finance committee. I have a few questions for Dr. McCloughan about the PMCA economic consultant report. How can we progress the nine recommendations listed on the back of the report? What has Councillor McGinley and his group done about them? The report was commissioned and it echoes many of the Thornhill...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 May 2018)

Victor Boyhan: I wish to raise two simple matters. First, can the Leader update us in the coming days on the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016? This Bill was No. 100 of 2016 and was sponsored by the Leader, Senator Buttimer, on behalf of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. I understand there are some difficulties going on in the background with respect to this Bill, which require...