Results 4,861-4,880 of 5,171 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Commission of Investigation (National Asset Management Agency) Order 2017: Motion (24 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister of State for being present and reading the statement into the record on the proposal. It is difficult to see what the NAMA commission will find out that we do not already know. There are outstanding criminal inquiries into the matters relating to the commission, there is a Comptroller and Auditor General report and now this commission is proposing to do this work. This...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I want to raise one issue. It relates to a report on direct provision supports for asylum seekers published by Mr. Justice Bryan McMahon in 2015. In that report he made 173 recommendations. I made contact with Nasc last week. For those who do not know what Nasc is, it is the Irish immigration support group based in Cork. Of course there are different stories depending on who one talks to...

Seanad: National Rehabilitation Hospital: Statements (23 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I warmly welcome the Minister of State and thank him for coming to the House to respond to the opportunity presented to him last week. He has come here willingly, as he always does, and I want to acknowledge that any time the House makes a request to the Minister of State, he responds positively and brings information with him. The more information he can bring us, the more we will invite...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Breach of EU Urban Wastewater Directive: Discussion (18 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the witnesses for coming before the joint committee. They set out their stall very well. It is clear we have an infrastructure deficit and it will cost €1 billion to remedy the problems. I will focus for a few moments on the Ringsend treatment plant. It has been known for a long time that capacity issues would arise as economic development progressed throughout the country...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: GLAS Payments (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Creed, to the House. He will have an opportunity to get water and draw his breath. I thank him for attending personally because this is an important issue. I spent last Saturday in Balmoral, Northern Ireland, at the agricultural show. It was amazing how many farmers from the South were there. One of the major topics of conversation besides Brexit was their...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: GLAS Payments (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister for that comprehensive response. I wish to comment on two things he has said in his response. There are about 1,000 queries on validation and process. That is fair enough. He has to apply the scheme. The Minister has not confirmed this, but according to official figures this week there are more than 2,090 outstanding issues. If 1,000 is subtracted from 2,000 - we...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: GLAS Payments (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I wish to raise one simple issue. I refer to the National Rehabilitation Hospital on Rochestown Avenue in Dún Laoghaire. I have continually raised this issue in Seanad Éireann over the past year without success, so today I propose an amendment to the Order of Business. It is the first time I have ever done so but it is now required. I call on the Minister for Health to come to...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I listened to the Leader, but I do not believe in having a sideshow with the Minister downstairs. That is not how we do our business. This is the Chamber and where we debate. This is where we hold people to account. Therefore, I would be happy to withdraw the amendment on the basis of a commitment that the responsible Minister would attend the House on Tuesday and time would be set aside...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: Okay. I will withdraw the amendment on that basis. I thank the Minister for his offer, but I would like to have the issue back on the agenda on Tuesday.

Seanad: Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016: Second Stage (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I warmly welcome the Minister to the House. I particularly like to see her here and believe she has an amazing record in this whole area. She has been a wonderful advocate for children generally. This Bill will be one of the cornerstones of her policy legacy and I know she is anxious to get it right. In previous debates about the Adoption (Amendment) Bill, she has delivered in separating...

Seanad: Second Interim Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and Certain Related Matters: Statements (17 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: It is very timely that we are having these discussions back to back today. When we look at the mother and baby commission of investigation and consider what the Minister has said to us in her report I find it very disappointing. It will be another two years before this work is completed. I note that these are institutions and not homes. Somebody said to me recently that they did not live...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I wish to raise two specific issues. Both relate to the portfolio and responsibility of the Minister, Deputy Leo Varadkar, in the Department of Social Protection. The first issue relates to the carer's allowance payment and the second relates to the maternity benefit. We know that the carer's allowance is a payment to people on low incomes who are looking after persons who need care due to...

Seanad: Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (10 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I welcome the Minister, Deputy Varadkar to the House. I also extend a very warm welcome to the people in the Gallery. I met many of them yesterday - as did some other Members of the Oireachtas - when they shared their personal stories with us. It was an honour to listen to these people tell their stories and place in context their journeys, vulnerabilities, fears and anxieties but also...

Seanad: Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (10 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: -----and the long, long journey she took. I have had the pleasure of meeting her on a number of occasions over the years. She was a lone person then at a very difficult time when she took up this work-----

Seanad: Gender Recognition (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (10 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: -----and I want to acknowledge her. I spoke to a number of people in the past few days and I want to quote and share their words because, for me, they have crystallised the issue. I spoke to Susan who said: The enactment of the Gender Recognition Act allowed me to self-determine my gender. It gave me permission and the respect of my country to be recognised for who I am. Terry and Paul...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Housing in Ireland - Census 2016 Results: Central Statistics Office (10 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the representatives from the CSO for their submission, which makes for very interesting reading. Without data analytics, we cannot fully understand and address the complexity of the housing problem. That is really important. Figures and data do not lie when presented in this manner by the CSO. I acknowledge the infographics. The way in which the CSO has distilled and communicated...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I am not going to speak very much about the National Oversight and Audit Commission, NOAC, because Senator Noone has already referred to it. The director general of NOAC spoke on "Morning Ireland" this morning in detail. What is concerning is that during the period of this study and survey - it was carried out in 2015 - it was noted that there were more than 4,200 empty dwellings at a time...

Seanad: Companies (Accounting) Bill 2016: Report and Final Stages (9 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I second the amendment. I do not intend to elaborate or go into any further detail regarding what my colleague, Senator Norris, has said. I would like to warmly welcome the Minister to the House.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government: Thirty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution (Water in Public Ownership) (No. 2) Bill 2016: Discussion (4 May 2017)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minster for coming before the committee and acknowledge the work involved. There are 38 signatories to this Bill, which is interesting. I took the time to consult the Official Report of Wednesday, 9 November 2016, including the deliberations on what the Minister had to say, as well as what Deputy Joan Collins and other colleagues said. That is more or less what we have heard...