Results 41-60 of 448 for at speaker:Christopher O'Sullivan

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: ...were agreed, which, to be fair, he would have had very little knowledge of, but also during the Tubridy payment scandal. Is Mr. Bakhurst happy with the make-up of his transitional executive board at the moment? Does he have any questions in that regard? Would it not have been better to start afresh with a completely new membership of the executive board so that we would not be back here...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Transparency of RTÉ Expenditure of Public Funds and Governance Issues: Discussion (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Okay. It is really important those positions are filled. We have heard from the executive board and the board. We have not heard from RTÉ staff or representatives. I ask that we hear from the NUJ, SIPTU or whoever it is. The staff are the one group which has been left out of this discussion since the debacle started at the start of the summer. It is important that we invite them...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Feb 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I ask the Taoiseach to comment on reports emanating from County Hall and Cork County Council that the roads budget for this year will be slashed by €33 million. It is very serious if this is the case. In west Cork, local and regional roads are crumbling. They are under pressure because Cork County Council remains at the very bottom of the league table of road funding allocations....

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Wastewater Treatment (31 Jan 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister of State. I appreciate that he is only the messenger in this case and we will not shoot the messenger but that response is absolutely not good enough. It is not acceptable that people will have to wait for the 2025 to 2029 funding cycle, and I will not accept it. I cannot go back to the people of Dunmanway and tell them they have to wait that long. The process of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Wastewater Treatment (31 Jan 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister of State for attending. I trust that he will pass on the comments I will make on Dunmanway. The situation with the wastewater treatment in the town is nothing short of a scandal. Dunmanway is one the biggest towns in my constituency of Cork South-West. Within the past ten years, a brand-new wastewater treatment plant has been built there. The plant was built with...

Charities (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (25 Jan 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: ...this Bill and the opportunity to speak about it. Strengthening the role of and support for charities within society is important. I note the Bill strengthens the capacity of the Charities Regulator. We have seen why that has to be the case all too often, unfortunately. Bad practice has cropped up and there is a necessity due to that but in the vast majority of cases, charities are run...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Tax Code (23 Jan 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I am obviously utterly disappointed at the response and at the refusal to even examine this proposal further. There is mention of a cost of €570 million to the Exchequer. That is obviously not be ignored. We cannot pretend it is a small figure. It is a lot; it is €570 million. However, the cost to our communities, to society and to our tourism regions of losing cafes,...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Tax Code (23 Jan 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, for taking this really important Topical Issue matter. The next few weeks and months are crunch time for Ireland's hospitality sector. I do not think there is any doubt about this. We have some very important decisions to make as a Government. We can make decisions that will allow Ireland's hospitality sector to flourish or we can make...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Departmental Properties (23 Jan 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Tánaiste. That is a great answer and I do not know what to do now with my speaking time. It was such a positive response. It is good news and the sooner it progresses the better. I visited Bere Island recently. The Tánaiste might have seen the headlines about the electricity being cut off on the island for more than 30 hours. The subsea cable connecting the island...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Non-court-based Conflict Resolution Mechanisms for Media-related Complaints: Discussion (17 Jan 2024)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I will be as brief as possible as I expect a vote to be called at any moment in the Dáil. The session we had in the audiovisual room was incredibly interesting. In fairness, the witnesses did not have it all their own way and we heard both sides of the story. We listened to the experiences of journalists and we also heard from a number of TDs who felt aggrieved by certain incidents....

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Football Association of Ireland's Facility Investment Vision and Strategy, and Governance Issues: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: At that time, Mr. Hill had read the staff handbook.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Football Association of Ireland's Facility Investment Vision and Strategy, and Governance Issues: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Mr. Hill at that point was aware that it had almost never happened that payments would be made in lieu to the staff of the FAI, and that the practice was that those days would be carried over.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Football Association of Ireland's Facility Investment Vision and Strategy, and Governance Issues: Discussion (13 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: It is astonishing. Mr. Hill has been aware of this since March. That is several months ago. He must have been aware it was not in compliance with the staff handbook, with which I assume he is familiar. He must have been aware it raises issues. This harks back to a previous session the committee had regarding payments that should not have been made to certain personnel. Mr. Hill was...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Farm Costs (12 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: Tonight, I raise an incredibly serious issue that has emerged over recent times. There are several essential farm items for which farmers can no longer reclaim or get a refund on VAT. This is a disaster for farmers across the length and breadth of Ireland. Farmers are trying to invest in their farms and their farms' efficiency and sustainability. They are putting multiples of thousands of...

Saincheisteanna Tráthúla - Topical Issue Debate: Farm Costs (12 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister of State. I guess it does, but the concerns still remain. What I am most concerned with in the statement is the line that states "VAT incurred for other purposes, such as on the acquisition of equipment or machinery, does not come within the scope of the refund order." There were certain items of equipment, like what I mentioned earlier, such as meal bins and bulk...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (12 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: 20. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at COP28. [53276/23]

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (12 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: ...from oil and gas and companies and countries closely tied to oil and gas. There is an inherent resistance to a reduction in use of fossil fuels globally. We are seeing the scale of the battle we face in order to address that. We have to continue that fight in terms of international discussion. At home we need to ramp up efforts to wean ourselves off fossil fuels, including oil, gas,...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I thank the Minister of State. My contribution, in the context of the number of years I have been in the Dáil, is one of my most important. It is one of the last opportunities for me as a TD for Cork South-West to finally sort out the slow, laborious planning process people have to face day in, day out, especially in the area of west Cork because although we are blessed with beauty, it...

Planning and Development Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (7 Dec 2023)

Christopher O'Sullivan: I will talk about the islands. We are trying to repopulate our islands. Again, west Cork has some of the most beautiful and stunning inhabited islands, including Cape Clear, Sherkin, Dursey and Bear islands, to name just a few, but there is an issue. We have an issue in populating our housing and there is a housing issue. We introduced Croí Cónaithe, and an enhanced rate for it,...