Results 581-600 of 5,010 for speaker:Victor Boyhan

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I thank the Minister of State. He said he would listen and reflect. I did not quite know to what extent but I see in amendment No. 19 much of what we debated about regeneration.It seemed to take a long time to hammer out something there. We will come to amendment No. 36 later. Nevertheless, I will indicate now that I think amendment No. 19 addresses it. I work with people and I think...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: The amendment will give councillors more time to consider the mayoral programme before it is discussed at a meeting. Increasing the period for consideration from seven to 14 days is more than reasonable and the Minister of State is accepting the substantive issue relating to the amendment. Again, that is positive and we have made progress on the previous debate, so I am very supportive.

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I will speak to amendment No. 29 and 30. I am representing Senator Higgins, so I will outline her response, which is very much in line with the Minister of State's thinking. On amendment No. 29, on the basis of the inclusion of the Minister of State's amendments and considering all the facts at this stage of the process, Senator Higgins has asked me to convey that she is happy to withdraw...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: That is the most important decision the Minister of State has made today.

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: In a concise manner.

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: He is here just in case I fall asleep.

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I move amendment no. 31: In page 30, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “Implementation of regeneration projects 36.(1) The Mayor shall be responsible for the implementation and management of regeneration projects in the Limerick City and County Council area. (2) The Mayor shall be required to submit an annual report that will be reviewed by members of the Local...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: We had a lot of discussion about this key issue. The Minister of State dealt with it earlier in his amendment. I thank him for that. We have had some discussion outside the Chamber between our previous meeting in the Seanad and this one. I was trying to drive home the importance of the regeneration. The Minister of State had a difficulty with the wording of the amendment. He wanted to...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Report and Final Stages (21 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I will not repeat myself. Well done to the Minister of State on getting through this very large Bill. As a Limerick man, he must be very proud of doing so. I thank his officials for engaging with us. I thank the sitting city and county councillors of Limerick, who also fed into this whole process. They had a lot of views on the proposals. Indeed, many of the views expressed during the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: It is great to see the Deputy Leader, Senator Regina Doherty, here today. I wish her well. I want to raise the issue of St. John of God but at the outset I want to thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this as a Commencement matter tomorrow. What I will speak on tomorrow is slightly different from what I will talk about today. I wish to flag a very serious issue, which is the services of...

Seanad: Special Measures in the Public Interest (Derrybrien Wind Farm) Bill 2023: Second Stage (20 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I also welcome Deputy Grealish from Galway and Councillor Geraldine Donohue from Galway County Council. I also welcome the Minister of State. My colleague, Senator McDowell, has set out clearly the background to the Bill. I will focus on some issues. I was reminded when considering the Bill of the then Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, addressing a major conference in Galway on 14...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I will be brief. Senator Moynihan spoke on amendments Nos. 40, 41, and 44 to 46, inclusive, and I concur with her. She set out the rationale and the argument concisely. I join with her, support those amendments and speak in favour of them.

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I absolutely agree with this. Senator Boylan has made it clear. The Association of Irish Local Government, AILG, uses the d'Hondt system. Many local authorities use the d'Hondt system for various committees and sub-committees. It is important that it is representative. It gives support and legitimacy to what are, in effect, equal, valued members of a local authority. They have been...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I support these amendments. I am particularly interested in amendment No. 76. Senators Garvey and Pauline O’Reilly are not present to move it, but may I discuss it?

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: The amendment is interesting and I thank the Senators for their support. They are Government Members and they have a view on the amendment. I would be interested in hearing what the Minister of State has to say. The Senators’ focus is on the Climate Change Advisory Council and the knowledge and experience around practicalities that it possesses. The Senators are members of the...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I note the Minister of State’s comments on amendment No. 76, but climate change and climate action are at the very heart of local government and are Government policy. The Government empowered local authorities in this regard and there is a great deal of focus on climate change. The Department of local government is responsible for them. In fairness, the Minister of State commends...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: From my experience in local government, this already exists. Many local councils enter all sorts of partnerships be they commercial or environmental. We see it with a whole load of agendas, particularly within the European Union. We see all sorts of partnerships. We see locally elected members of councils and local authorities having exchange programmes and going to different parts of...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: To carry on there, I know this is structural, but all through the Bill the mayor can devolve some or all of his functions to the chief executive. I ask the Minister of State to hear me out. The real issue is responsibility, and the word "responsible". Ultimately, the mayor can devolve functions; they will be less effective. Not every mayor will have qualifications in accountancy,...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: I can see why Senator Higgins would not lose any opportunity to promote the sustainable development goals. I fully commend her on doing so. She continues to highlight them at every opportunity. Ireland has signed up to the sustainable development goals. As for the local authorities, the preamble to my local authority's county development plan refers to its significance and the authority's...

Seanad: Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (14 Feb 2024)

Victor Boyhan: Again, I support Senator Higgins. She has set out very clearly the rationale behind her amendment on the rights of persons with disabilities. We have designated disability officers in our local authorities, or we should have. There may be a gap or vacancy currently but there are designated disability officers. I make the point, and it is important we raise this in the House, that there...