Results 641-660 of 2,092 for speaker:Pat Casey

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (12 Feb 2021)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister of State for her reply. I acknowledge that the limited amount of vaccine received is being rolled out and administered, and that the issue is about supply. That is why I put down the Commencement matter today. There is clear evidence in relation to the cohort I am referring to that there is a 25% mortality rate, and it should be at the same level as nursing home...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Feb 2021)

Pat Casey: Last week I received an email from Ruby Lily Doyle, aged ten, from Avoca. Like many of us, Ruby Lily and her family have taken to walking the beautiful village of Avoca in Wicklow, which is known to people as "Ballykissangel" from the television series. In her email she states that what has horrified her has been the level of dog fouling that has taken place on the walks. In fairness to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Pat Casey: I welcome, for the first time, the Minister to the committee. The public are finding it very hard to understand and accept, as am I, what is being proposed. Senator Higgins raised a few of the issues I was going to touch on. This decision is being made when the Department of Health is in crisis. Some might say the health service is always in crisis but, because of Covid, we are in worse...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Pat Casey: In his opening remarks, the Minister said we hopefully would look back on this as a positive decision in time to come when we can turn around our health service. I move on to accountability and responsibility. The Minister has mentioned a few times that at the end of the day, the Secretary General is the Accounting Officer and has legal responsibilities. Looking at the structure within the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Salary Increase for Position of Secretary General at the Department of Health: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (2 Feb 2021)

Pat Casey: I am not much wiser after that. What are the consequences for the Secretary General if the service is not provided or there is a failure to come within budget? The procedure in place muddies the waters all over the place and there is no real accountability. I am equally anxious to move on to the second part of the meeting so I will leave it at that.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: I will start with the Christmas message. It might calm me down a bit before I get into the substance of what I want to say today. It has been a difficult year for everybody. With regard to the House, I take this opportunity to wish a happy Christmas to the cleaning staff who knock quietly on our doors and clean the handles and all the surfaces we use, the catering staff, the ushers, the...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2020: Second Stage (18 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: I welcome this Bill. I do not think anyone has a problem with it. It has been an exceptional year with levels of expenditure that we have probably never seen before, and which we will hopefully never need to see again, around Covid-19. Following the news last night about hospitality, I take this opportunity to ask for certainty about what is happening in the coming week or ten days. We...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: I also wish to speak about councillors' pay, which has already been mentioned by three Senators. I agree that the time for talking is over. A decision must be made and it should be made sooner rather than later. This has been a protracted process. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform has been mentioned twice during this debate but he has only held that brief for the last six...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: I have spoken to the Minister of State about the insurance industry on a number of occasions. I wish him well in his role and I know that he is committed to it. More than 25 years ago, a gentleman walked into my premises and fell and broke his hip. He was an English gentleman and claimed through the English system, to the relief of the Irish insurance company, because the claim was capped....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Insurance Issues: Minister of State at the Department of Finance (16 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: Actual claims made could drag on for ten years. One has to pay a premium for a ten-year period and the claim might not add up to anything. It is a matter of transparency. If one can clearly see a potential claim as a policyholder, one should see what the claim costs in a premium, and if there is an actual claim, one should see the cost of the premium for that. It drags on and takes a long...

Seanad: Central Mental Hospital (Relocation) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: When is it proposed to take the next Stage?

Seanad: Central Mental Hospital (Relocation) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Central Mental Hospital (Relocation) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: When is it proposed to take the next Stage?

Seanad: Central Mental Hospital (Relocation) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Central Mental Hospital (Relocation) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister of State for her commitment to this House. She has always made herself available. I congratulate her on her success in bringing her first Bill through the House. The sitting is now suspended for 15 minutes, in accordance with the order of the House of 9 December.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: I speak on a point of clarification which the Minister of State may be able to confirm. Everybody wants taxation applied fairly across the board and everybody should be treated equally. My understanding is we all receive tax credits and how we use them is up to ourselves. If I was on the PUP from March until August which I was not able to use the tax credits for, they are accumulated into...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: I do not intend to say too much, though I probably will end up doing so. Having been on the housing committee during the previous Dáil, I have a fair and deep understanding of this issue. The same cases were made when the initial scheme was brought in and they were proved incorrect. In the absence of affordability, the State needs to intervene to give young couples who aspire to own...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: Without the Covid restrictions support scheme, CRSS, many businesses would have gone to the wall. We have engaged on this matter previously. I welcome the CRSS, but I have an ongoing concern. Businesses are relying on the CRSS, tax warehousing and many other measures that will collectively add to their problems down the road. The CRSS is allowing us to stay viable and keep our doors open...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: When I asked the Minister of State a question earlier in the week or last week, I was not expecting that figure to come back. It is quite staggering and goes back to my fundamental concern about what businesses will do in September when they are faced with this bill. It is all tied in together because what is happening in businesses such as my own is that we are using the CRSS to pay...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Pat Casey: Would it be possible to extend it until 2023?