Results 6,961-6,980 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Surely, Mr. O’Brien and the commission heard the Taoiseach?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: The commission really needs to think seriously about how it deals with media and political pressure. Some of the political pressure was completely inappropriate, as was some of the media pressure. The commission will have to learn to live with it, however. It must also comply with the law to be independent in its functions and do the job we want it to do.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I apologise for my absence for part of this meeting but I had to be in the Seanad Chamber. If I raise an issue that has already been addressed, the Chairman can feel free to interrupt me.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: If I raise something that has been raised before, I urge the Chairman to tell me. I apologise for missing the last hour of the meeting but I had to make a speech and cast a vote in the Seanad. The Garda Síochána Act requires that GSOC should be independent in the performance of its functions. How does Mr. O'Brien's expression of regret to a Minister qualify as being independent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I think the public would be happier if they found out that GSOC was investigating these matters privately in what it considered the best way of doing so. That is obviously what GSOC thought at the time; that this was the best way to deal with the matter. There has been an immediate change in attitude and I am disappointed. I am supportive of GSOC and the Garda Síochána and am not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Security and Protocol Issues: Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: The worst mess up in the office of the DPP - I cannot think of any off hand - or a decision not to prosecute is never apologised for. The DPP makes decisions independently. The DPP never explains or apologises because the office cannot do so. It is not that an explanation or apology is not desirable or that we would not like to find out the reasons for the DPP's decisions but under our...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Defence Forces Deployment (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: As usual when one receives a response on an issue such as this, there is great detail in the response and it is difficult to absorb it all in a short period. I accept the Minister of State's statement that there are no plans to relocate B Company 27th Battalion. We have heard this before, but I have been hearing otherwise and I feel it is important to raise the issue. The Minister of State...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Defence Forces Deployment (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I was referring to the officials in the Department as well. I said "the mandarins and chiefs".

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Defence Forces Deployment (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: A number of serious issues of concern were raised with me this week by family members of soldiers working in Gormanston Army Camp in County Meath. I live very close to the camp and know many of the people who work there. Various family members are regularly in touch with me about the camp. It has been put to me that the Army bomb disposal team, which is based there for convenience and...

Seanad: Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Politics in Ireland has gone so bad that people comment politically on essential flood relief work on the River Dodder which impacts Dublin and even Dunboyne and Mornington, County Meath. There were problems along this river but schemes put in place by the Office of Public Works, OPW, have ensured they have been tackled. The Government needs to take climate change seriously and stand up to...

Seanad: Recent Flooding: Statements (12 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: We should all be conscious of the extreme difficulties being faced by people in Munster. The weather in Cork and Limerick is unbelievably extreme. Trees are down everywhere; students are being told not to leave buildings, lectures are being cancelled and so forth. While the damage is storm rather than flood related, it is likely to be extremely severe. People are really suffering. At...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Further Education and Training Colleges (11 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I am disappointed with this reply. While I do not expect the Minister to announce that the Department will sanction a new building for the college next week, the provision of a separate roll number which would entail appointing a principal is not a significant ask for a college that, as the Department states, officially has 429 students. Unofficially, as I understand it, the college is...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Further Education and Training Colleges (11 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Leas-Cathaoirleach as ucht an deis seo a thabhairt dom an cheist seo a ardú ar an Athló. I also thank the Minister of State for being here. This is an important issue for County Meath as a whole. Dunboyne College of Further Education is the only such college in the entire county, although there is a college of further...

Seanad: Public Sector Reform: Statements (11 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Our public servants are dedicated, committed and conscientious. At various points in the history of the State, as the Minister pointed out, they have kept the country going. One calls to mind, for example, the change of government in 2011. The change from Cumann na nGaedheal to Fianna Fáil, which took place at a much more...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Some time ago I raised an issue on the Adjournment about broadband at Lismullen national school, Scoil na Tríonóide Naofa, in Lismullen, County Meath, beside the Hill of Tara. I am delighted to report that the school is very pleased I raised it on the Adjournment and broadband was installed a couple of weeks later. We should have more of those debates. The Leader has a proposal...

Seanad: Homelessness Strategy: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: And Fianna Fáil councillors.

Seanad: Homelessness Strategy: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: Fianna Fáil and Labour did a lot of shouting.

Seanad: Homelessness Strategy: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: I have been a victim of that rule.

Seanad: Homelessness Strategy: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: This crisis is really frightening. I did not intend to speak in the debate because I probably spoke enough on other issues today. I have been in correspondence with Meath County Council, as probably happens with everyone else and their local authorities. The staff in the housing section got back to me today. Those staff are working incredibly hard. They cannot build houses. They cannot...

Seanad: Standing Orders: Motion (5 Feb 2014)

Thomas Byrne: We never telephoned Anglo Irish Bank or gave it information.