Results 41-60 of 252 for at speaker:Aidan Davitt

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Feb 2023)

Aidan Davitt: I will pick up where Senators Wall and Eugene Murphy left off in referring to the shocking incident in Ballyfermot. The viciousness of the attack beggars belief. The community is terrified by the actions of these cowboys and their total disregard for gardaí. If we have a debate on this matter, which I hope the Leader agrees to, we must look at strengthening laws in respect of people...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Feb 2023)

Aidan Davitt: I had a meeting this morning with the Georgian ambassador. It is a little before my time but he told me that the friendships between Members of the Houses of the Oireachtas and our counterparts in Georgia will, in the coming few days, have been in existence for 25 years. Following that meeting, I want to stress the hardship people in the countries bordering Russia are under at present.Our...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2023)

Aidan Davitt: Beannachtaí Lá Fhéile Bríde, a Chathaoirligh. I raise the issue of 44,000 pensioners who are due back pay. Most worked as nurses or in social care. There are some doctors as well and many carers. An increment of €500-odd was to be paid on 1 October 2021 and again in 2022, and there is another increment to be paid in February. In most of these pensions I would...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Representation Allowance (31 Jan 2023)

Aidan Davitt: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. He is one of the hardest-working Ministers of State in the House. I am sure he will have no problem in taking over the big shoes of Deputy Peter Burke in what is a tough portfolio. I am also sure we will see a lot of the new Minister of State here. I raised this issue with the Minister of State's predecessor. I acknowledge that the new...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Local Representation Allowance (31 Jan 2023)

Aidan Davitt: Yes, directions on it. When he is on it, I implore the Minister of State to look at the full cost of paying an alarm company. To have only 20% allowable is not 20% security. Mainly, the security is tied to the person's position as an elected representative. I would implore the Minister of State to allow the 100% grant of the monthly expenses. The expenses are €4,200 plus the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Office of the Revenue Commissioners: Engagement (14 Dec 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I welcome the Revenue Commissioners to the meeting. I commend our guests. Through business and in one form or another, I deal with Revenue, on and off, relatively regularly. Particularly during the pandemic when there was a shotgun effect to the need to deal with the pandemic unemployment payment and other immediate payments, we found that when different tax categories needed to be...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Office of the Revenue Commissioners: Engagement (14 Dec 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I have a question on new-build houses. In the North, there is no VAT payable on new-build houses. I have discussed this with various Ministers and have raised it at meetings of my parliamentary party and the response I get is that any changes in that regard would cause a problem with Revenue. They always want to blame somebody else. Would Revenue have an issue with making new-build houses...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Nov 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I wish to discuss the horrific mauling of Alejandro Miszan and the seven or eight other such cases that have happened throughout Ireland this year, mainly to young kids. When researching this issue, I saw that a woman who had two small dogs with her had been attacked and severely disfigured by a listed dog. There is a list of ten restricted dog breeds. Owners are responsible for their dogs...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his very successful trip representing our country abroad. He must be praised for his work. I often avail of the train service from Mullingar to Dublin. It is something that certainly should be upgraded. Mullingar, as we know, is quite a large town. There is a serious upgrade of the line to Maynooth with more services being laid on and a slight...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Nov 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I wish to raise today a matter that was recently brought to my attention regarding a little accident. Most of us grew up or have been around rural settings and farmyards. We would have learned our trade driving different machines and started off in tractors and all that sort of stuff. There have been great campaigns on safety with regard to machinery in recent years but there is something...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Oct 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I rise in support of Ukrainians and the struggle they face daily. I am proud we have been able to accommodate 60-odd thousand displaced Ukrainians. However, I have been disappointed by some recent negative comments about Ireland's attempts to accommodate Ukrainians seeking refuge. I was surprised some saw fit to criticise the State in the mainstream media in terms of all we have been...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Oct 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I rise to raise a topic that has been raised by a number of Senators, that is, the stay on evictions and the greater and general topic of housing. I agree with Senator Gavan that it would be no harm to have a discussion on housing in this House. That would be informative for everyone. I welcome the Minister's decision to introduce a stay on evictions over the winter period. It is a...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Oct 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I wish to bring up the issue of the burdens facing businesses in Ireland. There was a recent review that found that approximately 10,000 businesses are under financial strain and pressure at present. A lot of that is due to the warehousing of taxes from the Covid era. That has been filtering to an end. That is causing serious problems at a time when businesses are looking to a slowdown in...

Seanad: Budget 2023 (Public Expenditure and Reform): Statements (27 Sep 2022)

Aidan Davitt: Tomorrow morning at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Jul 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I will speak about Georgia's accession to the EU. This has come more to the fore with what we have seen of Russia's destructive acts in Ukraine. As we are aware, Georgia has already felt the brunt of Russia's forces in recent years. I strongly believe Georgia's accession should be dealt with in tandem with Ukraine's at present. Georgia has done quite a lot of work in this area. In 1996,...

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I thank the Minister of State and welcome him and his judgement. This Bill has been before the House previously and we discussed it at length. The Minister of State took on a lot of the practical complications that were involved in the Bill. Senator Ward put a lot of work into it and I commend him on what he is trying to do with the Bill. I have serious concerns with part of it as I have...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Jun 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I raise the issue of maternity leave for county councillors. As the Deputy Leader knows, this matter is coming before the Cabinet this week. It is a matter I have discussed over several years here and I am delighted to have fed input into the proposed policy coming before the Cabinet. On reflection, this type of leave scheme is one that could be expanded. Recently, one of our own...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Jun 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I call for a debate in the House on Ireland's corporate tax rate. There is a need for a proper debate and discussion with the Minister for Finance on the future of the minimum global rate which, as we all know, has been quite a hot topic. For context, I am watching developments in both the US and Poland. In the US, the Republican Party in the House is holding up the agreement to accept the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 May 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I ask the Deputy Leader to liaise with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, and see if, with the Cathaoirleach's help, he will come to the House for a debate on e-scooters. I know legislation is being proposed and in draft but it has to be addressed sooner rather than later. As we all know, it can take a long time for legislation to get through this House. They could be dealt...

Seanad: Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Mar 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I am delighted to welcome my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the House today. We all know he is no stranger to the House and is here on a regular basis. It can be hard to get anybody else from the Department here and he might look for a bit of a dig out. It would be remiss of me not to mention Dr. Dermot Fitzpatrick today. Senator Mary Fitzpatrick has...