Results 6,361-6,380 of 9,894 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Some other people who shall remain nameless, who were members of the Fianna Fáil Party were doing quite well at that time. Perhaps if they had stayed things would have been different.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: The former members, and there are at least two that I know of, are on the other side. We have too much rushed legislation. My colleague, Deputy Fleming, raised serious concerns in the Dáil. The Bill was not even presented to us whether it was passed or not by the Dáil. I do not follow the proceedings in the Dáil, and the bill was presented to us late. We are not happy. The...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Minister for setting out his position. We all realise the effects of the Appropriation Bill. It almost has no effect because it is recognising the reality of what has happened already this year. It has a very important role, because it is the only opportunity that Seanad Éireann has to demonstrate whether it has confidence in the Government. There are precedents where...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: It is a matter of showing confidence in the Government. We have no confidence in the Government, as it is making a complete hames of things. It is quite extraordinary to see how we are rushing in all sorts of legislation before Christmas. We will discuss the third or fourth water Bill. The first water Bill came in before Christmas last year, but was full of mistakes. Now we have another...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Yes. This Bill covers the whole range of Government expenditure. What else does a Government do only spend money? Effectively the Government functions by taking taxes in and spending money. What happened years ago, was that we had days of debate on all aspects of the Government's work.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: On a point of order, are paper copies of the Bill available? There is none in the anteroom.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: It has been only passed in the Dáil and there were amendments.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I do not know that, but there were amendments. I will accept the Minister of State's word on that.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I propose we suspend until we have a paper copy of the Bill as it has just gone through the Dáil.

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: A plain reading of the amendment does not support the Minister's argument on its interpretation. It simply does not. It is strange.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I am conscious that I have an amendment tabled but I must leave the House in approximately five minutes, at approximately 5.40 p.m.

Seanad: Business of Seanad (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: It has been circulated, but not by me. It is not my fault if the Senators do not have it. It was submitted well before Second Stage.

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I hear the Minister's explanation but it does not actually explain the section. This section seems to imply that if the legislation is unconstitutional, we do not mean it to be such. It is like a just-in-case clause. If one were attempting to do what the Minister is attempting, one would state this section is not intended to affect any cases currently before the courts, or something like...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Yes, but we do not make unconstitutional laws. We are already interpreting the law through this Government amendment. I was thinking of calling a vote on this but have decided not to as we do not want to stand in the way of the passage of the legislation in the interest of road safety. I have serious concerns that the Government or somebody in the Attorney General's office has suggested...

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: If the Senator pushes this to a vote, I will go with him.

Seanad: Road Traffic (No. 2) Bill 2014: Second Stage (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I support this legislation. None of us likes getting penalty points, but the system has been tremendously successful in ensuring fewer people are killed on the roads. It is a system that is working and we must maintain its integrity. It occurred to me last night while searching for other legislation that it is very difficult to find commencement notices. This presents a difficulty not just...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I am not aware of any time restrictions in respect of Committee Stage contributions. We are not trying to hold up the Bill unnecessarily. The provision to allow Irish Water to demand PPS numbers was introduced by way of a social welfare Bill. In fairness to the Tánaiste's officials, they dealt very protectively and carefully with the PPS numbers. By all accounts, they were reluctant...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: We had a vote ten minutes ago to remove the power of Irish Water to hold and demand PPS numbers and the Government voted against that recommendation. The Seanad has not yet even seen the Water Services Bill. The Dáil has not passed it yet. We were giving the opportunity to the Government to go ahead - quickly - with the recommendation by Senator Cullinane. It has refused. We are...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I thank my colleague for his help. I apologise for causing confusion but the progressive measures were introduced by both Governments. We brought in two thirds of the austerity but we tried to do it in a way that hit the wealthiest the hardest. I did not like the way the changes to child benefit were made. I would love to have seen a means test brought in. No Government has had the...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2014: Committee Stage (16 Dec 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I was surprised to hear Senator Cullinane raising the issue of the Waterford bin waiver. I understand that Sinn Féin is in power in Waterford. Maybe the Senator can correct me in that regard.