Results 561-580 of 2,092 for speaker:Pat Casey

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: General Scheme of the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2021: Discussion (22 Sep 2021)

Pat Casey: It is fine.

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: As we had a good discussion about this at the finance committee last week, I will be brief. First, it must be acknowledged that this review has probably been long overdue, since 2013. I say that in relation to the revaluations. The longer we leave revaluations to be carried out, the harder it becomes to bring in the change. The other significant thing is that this Bill brings into the tax...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Now.

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Now.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2021: Second and Subsequent Stages (16 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister to the House. As someone involved in the industry, it is hard to take what I have heard today. It is even harder to take what was said in the Dáil Chamber on Wednesday night. As the Minister and other speakers have said, Covid is not fair. Nobody disputes that Covid discriminates and has a greater impact on certain sectors of society than on others. We have...

Seanad: Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Having worked with the Minister of State in the previous Dáil when she was a Deputy, I know her work ethic. She was our spokesperson on older people and I know this has been an issue on her agenda. When she was appointed Minister of State, I know what it meant to her. Today is another milestone so I congratulate her on her success in getting this important legislation through that we...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: It is a false statement to say that the Minister has not listened to what the Members have said on this floor. He has listened, throughout the debate, to what the Members have said.It is wrong to say the Minister has not listened to members. That is factually incorrect. He has made significant changes from the time this was entered. Even since it was introduced during the previous...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Chairperson...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I served on a local authority for 12 years and I believe in local democracy. The Minister would not bring this legislation to the House if there was not good reason for it, and we must take that into account. There is nothing to prevent councillors providing and approving a housing scheme before the LDA even gets involved in it because the Minister has given members and administrations the...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Hear hear.

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: The local authority land in Wicklow has not been used for social housing at all.

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: The core elements of section 2 are the two key pillars that have sustained businesses and kept them going over the Covid-19 period. I refer to the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, and its predecessor, the wage subsidy scheme; and to the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS.I have some reservations about the end date of the EWSS in the particular context of my industry, which is...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive reply but the definition of a cliff edge is it is there one day and not there the next. That is exactly what he is describing on 31 December. The EWSS will come to an end. I will speak to this from a practical point of view. When Covid hit us, the wage subsidy scheme allowed us to keep core employees on board. We believed at that time...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Senator Kyne outlined most of what is involved. Regarding the 31 August 2022 date, the Covid crisis has been rolling and none of us knows where it will end. Every time it extends, the period of recovery for the industry also needs to be extended. The hospitality needs the 9% VAT rate for a two-year recovery period. Ending this on 31 August 2022 will give it only a year because we will not...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I refer to the period 1 and period 2 described in this section. Tax warehousing was critical where businesses could not access credit from their banking institutions and it was the only way they could get cash liquidity to pull them over. Can period 1, the restricted trading phase, be extended to when businesses are actually reopening? That is when they could do with a cash injection or...

Seanad: Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Little did we know in March 2020 that we would still be dealing with a pandemic in July 2021. It must be acknowledged that, without the support of the Government, most businesses would have collapsed. We must also acknowledge how the Government reacted when it came across things that were not working out or did not quite fit specific sectors. It rearranged supports to suit them. I would...

Seanad: Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions Bill) 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: When is it proposed to take Committee Stage?

Seanad: Workplace Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions Bill) 2021: Second Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: Senator Boyhan will remember the previous time the housing committee prepared a detailed report on the complexities of applying universal design across all housing. It would not be practical at the end of the day. We always felt there was an element when designing a complex of housing where a number of units would be designed with universal design in mind so they are protected for people...

Seanad: Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Committee Stage (12 Jul 2021)

Pat Casey: I am sure the Minister will agree that every opportunity should be availed of to provide 100% public housing on public land where it is needed and that he will support that. We should remember that, as drafted, the legislation provided for 30% and that, in fairness to the Minister, that was increased to 50%, while the Part V provision was increased by a further 10%, which brought it to 70%....