Results 7,241-7,260 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: It is €3.1 billion.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: The Senator has not read the Minister's Budget Statement yesterday.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Hospital Consultants Recruitment (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: Certainly, if treatment is required, that needs to happen, but in many of these cases it is not treatment that is required but the regular monitoring of these patients to prevent the necessity of treatment or to prevent serious injury or death, which unfortunately often results. The HSE and Department should treat it as urgent to get somebody in to monitor these patients and keep them right...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Hospital Consultants Recruitment (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach as cead a thabhairt dom an t-ábhar an-tábhachtach seo a phlé ar an Athló anocht. The issue I raise is the lack of a paediatric urologist and general lack of paediatric urology services in the Children's University Hospital, Temple Street. There is a vacancy in the hospital for a consultant urologist. Urologists perform a...

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: There is no doubt that the budget has been prepared with a view to picking people off and pitting one section of society against the other. It is also clear that one of the major spending Departments, the Department of Health, does not have a clue about what is going on. The Labour Party should investigate what is happening before it attempts to deny that assertion. Many of the children...

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: The removal of the telephone allowance is a particularly cruel attack on the elderly. It equates to €10 per month, which is crucial to those who depend on a communication lifeline to keep them in touch with neighbours and friends.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: The telephone allowance is being abolished. Is the Senator contradicting me?

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: The security devices will be dependent on the telephone systems which people installed based on having this allowance. At the same time as the Government is proposing to make this cut, the Department of Finance is increasing its own post and telephone budget by 33%. The Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government is increasing its office equipment budget by 41%.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: The Government Procurement Service is increasing its office expenses by 107%. These figures are all in the Estimates. The Department of Health is increasing its office expenses by 16%. The President's establishment is getting an increase of 12% for travel and subsistence. The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform is getting an increase of 150% for consultancy services and an...

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: Government Members can laugh all they like at the disabled and the elderly who will lose their medical cards next year but the figure is €113 million. The Minister for Health could not say at his press conference how many people will lose cards but he intends to review them. We saw last week what had happened as a result of previous reviews.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: Labour Party Senators can laugh all they like but they are supporting these cuts. They think they are engaging in a probity review of people who are defrauding the medical card system. They are now claiming sick and dying people are fraudsters.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: That is the description in the Minister's speech.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: What signal does it send about this Government that it is abolishing the mortgage interest supplement?

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: It sends the signal that the Government does not care about people in mortgage difficulties. That chimes with the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Act 2013, which allows repossessions and facilitates the issuance of tens of thousands of letters to people in trouble. I am pleased that the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, was able to include Kilkenny...

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: Bray in particular could do with some kind of incentive scheme. All these towns are larger than Kilkenny even if they are not called cities, and they deserve to be included in the initiative.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: Last week I dealt with a couple of people who earned €1 above the limit.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: I would like to see that allegation substantiated.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: The Irish Examiner claimed the Government is in denial.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: Not for smaller primary schools.

Seanad: Budget 2014: Statements (15 Oct 2013)

Thomas Byrne: We do not know what the changes are.