Results 521-540 of 1,008 for speaker:Aidan Davitt

Seanad: Industrial Development (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage (12 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: Similar to the last Bill, we are happy to support this Bill again today. As the Minister stated, it came about due to the ominous court case which highlighted a lack of power to purchase sites. I have one query about the large IDA park in Mullingar. It is a specific question and I know the Minister has heard much about it from my colleagues in Westmeath. I am curious as to whether she has...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: First, I raise an issue brought to my attention by a bus driver in Mullingar, which culminates in respect of news I heard on the wires this morning about a Bill, framed by my colleague, Senator Gallagher, on assault and abuse of people working in the emergency services. Given the horrific accounts I heard at the weekend from a local bus driver, it is possible we could consider extending that...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: He is right that all these issues need to be teased out and ventilated. I put off work on what would have been an extremely busy day yesterday, unannounced, to be here to support the topics being discussed. As Senator McDowell is Chairman of the Seanad reform committee, I hope he will ensure they will be ventilated robustly in this House, including all the changes and every issue that needs...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: Recently I had cause to drive to the west and to the very south point of the country in the same week. By the time my journey was over, I was really depressed by the decline in the villages and rural areas. I do not have to go to such far flung places as I can see it in my own county where the villages are passed by and closed down. The shop fronts remain but the shops are closed. This...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: It would be a great experience for both of us.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: Senator Horkan is canvassing already.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: It was the national development plan.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: I did not start talking about the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy. Fair is fair.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: That is over the last 20 years.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Jul 2018)

Aidan Davitt: I said over the last 20 years. That is a cheap shot.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jun 2018)

Aidan Davitt: They would not.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jun 2018)

Aidan Davitt: The Senator had a free run the last time.

Seanad: Order of Business (27 Jun 2018)

Aidan Davitt: I wish to raise a simple issue which the Leader might note and pass on to the Minister for Education and Skills. A request has been made for an ASD unit at a secondary school, Columba College, in Killucan which was refused previously. Some of the kids in the area must travel more than 50 miles to be accommodated in an adequate second level ASD unit. Many representations have been made. On...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rental Accommodation Scheme (12 Jun 2018)

Aidan Davitt: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, for coming into the House to take this matter, despite his busy schedule. He has seen an outline of it and I know that he has prepared a detailed reply. The matter was brought to my attention by Councillor Pat Fitzgerald who is well known in Arklow and a great champion of the locals. He came across an incident, of which I was not...

Seanad: Commencement Matters: Rental Accommodation Scheme (12 Jun 2018)

Aidan Davitt: I am delighted the Minister of State, Deputy English, is here because he has a good grasp of the housing issue. It is certainly the answer I wanted to hear. It is a practical answer. It is a change in policy, or a change from what was in some letters we received from the Department, of which I am sure the Minister of State is aware. He is doing work on this behind the scenes. I am sure...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 May 2018)

Aidan Davitt: An issue has been brought to my attention by Councillor Pat Fitzpatrick in Arklow, who works with Deputy Pat Casey. There seems to be an anomaly in the rental accommodation scheme, RAS. Tenants of a landlord who withdraws from RAS, who previously qualified for the housing assistance payment, HAP, no longer do so. It is up to the local authority in this instance, namely, Wicklow County...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Removal of Sub-minimum Rates of Pay) Bill 2017: Second Stage (29 May 2018)

Aidan Davitt: Fianna Fáil will support the passage of the Bill to Committee Stage. Its aim is to amend the National Minimum Wage Act 2000 and end sub-minimum rates of pay for those who have attained the age of 16 or those entering their first two years of employment. Fianna Fáil has always protected citizens in the State who are on low pay.We introduced a National Minimum Wage Act in 2000 that...

Seanad: National Minimum Wage (Removal of Sub-minimum Rates of Pay) Bill 2017: Second Stage (29 May 2018)

Aidan Davitt: We are trying to move forward.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill 2017: Discussion (22 May 2018)

Aidan Davitt: I read the Bill before I came down. It seems to be logical and a good bit of work was put into it. I wish Deputy Quinlivan well with the Bill. I hope it gets through the wringer in this sitting of the Dáil anyway. Well done.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: General Scheme of the Sale of Tickets (Sporting and Cultural Events) Bill 2017: Discussion (22 May 2018)

Aidan Davitt: I have been listening quite intently. Maybe my grasp of this is not entirely correct but I appreciate what Mr. Cox says about how the departmental officials are not enforcers and it is a funny type of market, as we have alluded to. I am curious about Ticketmaster. It knows it had 100,000 inquiries or whatever else. It is a nominal figure. Even if it is a nominal figure for a concert in...