Results 561-580 of 2,343 for speaker:Michael Colreavy

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Western Rail Corridor: Discussion (4 Mar 2015)

Michael Colreavy: I thank Deputies Seán Kenny and Michael Fitzmaurice. I have to speak in the debate on the social welfare Bill. I thank the delegates for their presentations. Sometimes with presentations one receives a slide with the words, "This slide has intentionally been left blank." When I look at the map, north of the Sligo to Dublin line there is a big blank space and I am tempted to say...

Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: The purpose of the Bill appears to be to bring legislation in line with how people live their lives today. There are some who seem to be of the view that if we do not change the legislation, somehow people will live the kind of lives we had at the foundation of the State, and that they will live different lives that fit in with the views of some people on the world and the State. However,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: I welcome the delegates and thank them for their presentations. Let me summarise what people think. They see the wholesale price of oil and gas reducing dramatically; in percentage terms, the reduction is in double digits, yet when they drive by the petrol pumps, they see a percentage reduction in a single digit figure. They also see single digit reductions in the bills from their energy...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: Let us take the example of gas imported from Britain. Would there have been different contracted suppliers in the past five years or is there a single supplier?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: Mr. Kirwan referred to modest margins, which is comforting to hear, but does the regulator have any influence over the profit margins of companies?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: Is it self-discipline rather than discipline is imposed by legislation or regulation?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: Would companies like Bord Gáis Energy have business arrangements with companies in Britain, the rest of European Union or internationally? Are all of the companies stand-alone businesses?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: Would an arm of SSE Airtricity be purchasing from another arm of the company?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: Does it purchase from other sources?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: Therefore, it would not be purchasing from other arms of the company?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: The companies are not very loyal to customers who stay with and are loyal to them. My problem with switching is that at a certain stage the attractive contract rates become the norm because if more than 50% switch annually, it becomes a circle of switchers. Are the delegates aware of how switching works in other jurisdictions?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: In regard to the security deposit or guarantee, does each company require a deposit? I am thinking of a business, say, a 300 bed hotel. Do each of the companies require a deposit, including from existing and fully paid customers and, if so, how is that deposit calculated? Can supply be cut in the event of non-payment of a security deposit, although supply has been paid for? What happens...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: I am aware of a case where that did not happen. A threat was made to the customer that he would be disconnected unless he paid a security deposit, although he was a customer in good standing for a number of years.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: I was further advised by this business owner, who felt he was being treated unfairly, that not having paid the security deposit prevented him from switching to a competitor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: Energy Prices: Discussion (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: If Mr. Stapleton gives me his contact details after the meeting I will provide the details of the case.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: 86. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the recourse open to the owner of a small, rural business whose enterprise is at imminent risk of closure because their appeal against an unfair rateable valuation was unsuccessful. [8327/15]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Feedstuffs (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: 97. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the remedies available to farmers who purchased feeding meals with less than the minimum protein content and value. [8325/15]

Written Answers — Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Forestry Sector (25 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: 98. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the recourse available to home owners adjoining forestry land, who express an interest in purchasing a section of the land prior to planting, but are met with completely unrealistic prices. [8326/15]

Income and Living Conditions: Motion [Private Members] (24 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: It is difficult to analyse something such as this motion, or the Minister of State's counter-motion as it is accurately called, in five minutes. I can only skim the surface of it. Since the economic crash, we have been looking at the ghosts of freshly painted shops and businesses have been turning green with moss because their former owners have had to abandon them. Local sports fields...

Leaders' Questions (24 Feb 2015)

Michael Colreavy: The Taoiseach should give up the condescension.