Results 721-740 of 4,085 for speaker:Dan Boyle

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: I would argue that much of the planning that has occurred over the past 30 years has been bad planning. That is to our shame as a country and to our failure as a political system. The bits of planning legislation there have been since 1963 have only involved tinkering around the edges. Senator Coghlan spoke of the overuse of what was section 4 and, I believe, is section 32 in more recent...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: -----to overturn the decision of county managers in particular planning decisions. The rules in relation to three quarters in a local electoral area and two thirds of a local council are meant to be a constraint in preventing that being done.

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: Of course, they are for material contraventions and amendments of the development plan itself. Because these things have happened, and in a quite cynical way, all of us who have been involved in local government have seen where political parties collectively have protected their representatives where a controversial planning application has been made to allow their three, four or five...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, has earned a reputation among some county councils for intervening more than his predecessors. The two interventions he has made have been more than justified. The interventions in Mayo County Council and Monaghan County Council raised serious questions about the scale of development that was being proposed...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: -----at present needs and does not build towards future progress in the communities concerned. Much of the debate on planning in this country has been about blind alleys. There has been much talk about one-off housing. Most of the planning permissions in this country are for one-off housing. There are said to be difficulties in obtaining such permission, especially for family members. I...

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: I thank Senator Ross and the Independent Members of this House for doing me the honour of resubmitting a Bill I brought before the Dáil when I was a Member of that House. I have to start by saying I agree with everything that is in the Bill. It is what I aspire to see in the area of public appointments. I hope the Bill can be accepted in one form or other by this and the other House. I...

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: The nature of politics dictates that one must respond to developments of this nature.

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: Given that I receive e-mails and other correspondence daily telling me about my supposed loss of principle - I am told I have performed a U-turn on everything I have ever believed in and can no longer consider myself a decent human being in any form - it is not new for me to have to respond in this way. As a Member of this House, I have to do it every day. I would like to outline how the...

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: I would like to think that represents the beginning of a change. A further step forward is being taken using the Broadcasting Act 2009 which will enact the proposals of the Minister, Deputy Ryan, with regard to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland. That legislation gives Oireachtas committees a greater role in vetting people and eventually appointing them to boards. The latest advance, as...

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: -----in a vulgarian fashion and deny that their parties were involved-----

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: -----but the reality is that when appointments have been made at local government level or to international bodies-----

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: -----the use and abuse of public appointments has taken place in equal measure regardless of which party has held the reins of power.

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: The Senator can deny it all he likes.

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: His denial only serves to intensify the use of the practice in the past.

Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: By organising this debate, Senator Ross and his Independent colleagues have given me the honour of regurgitating my principles and beliefs in this regard. They have demonstrated the importance of this Chamber by airing this issue and ensuring there continues to be a focus on it. While the decision-making process in this respect may be slow, gradual and painful, when decisions are ultimately...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (22 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: Like Senator Alex White I regret that having become a Member of the 23rd Seanad I did not have as much opportunity to interact with Senator Kett due to the nature of his illness. On the irregular occasions when we did meet, I always found him to be friendly, amiable and cordial. I was very struck by his funeral service where I got a better sense of the man. On that occasion his sense of...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: We are members.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: On Senator Alex White's call for more decorum in the House, I suggest that at its next meeting the Committee on Procedure and Privileges examine the events of yesterday. I would go some way towards agreeing with what the Senator had to say. However, the House must also be a place in which Members show anger and passion when the need arises. I disagree vehemently that the party opposite...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: That is the opinion I am expressing. I am grateful to have 30 seconds to speak on the Order of Business without being interrupted because I consider myself to be the Member who probably is most interrupted in the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Oct 2009)

Dan Boyle: On the call for a special debate on social partnership already made by several Members today, I agree that such a debate must happen and that it should help to inform the process. In particular, I accept the need for employers' representatives to step up to the plate at this time of national need, as there has been little indication of an apparent change of culture among that sector of the...