Results 7,661-7,680 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: The motion relates to the Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence. As I understand it, there is a Minister of State at the Department of Defence who is also the Chief Whip.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: It is a point of order. The Minister's absence is completely unsatisfactory and disrespectful.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: It is symbolic of the arrogance of the Minister for Justice and Equality and is the reason that gardaà all around Ireland have lost confidence in the Minister.
- Seanad: Confidence in Minister for Justice and Equality and Defence: Motion (27 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: I move: "That Seanad Ãireann has no confidence in the Minister for Justice, Equality and Defence Alan Shatter T.D., because of his on-going erosion of the physical security infrastructure of the State through Garda station and Army Barrack closures, systematic undermining of Garda numbers and resources with a deeply inadequate budget allocation and abject failure to address the declining...
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: The Lord Mayor is leading the way.
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: I call for a debate on the role of grandparents in Irish society. A Bill is being brought forward in the Dáil relating to the access rights of grandparents and this is welcome and necessary. Grandparents play a huge role in the rearing and care of children currently. In some cases they travel great distances to be available to their families. I am aware of many people in Meath whose...
- Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: Tá go leor canúintà sa Ghaeltacht sin.
- Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: Ba mhaith liom tacaÃocht a thabhairt don reachtaÃocht seo. Tá áthas orm go bhfuil an Bille ag dul trÃd. Ba mhaith liom buÃochas a ghabháil le Coimisiún Thithe an Oireachtais agus le Vivian UÃbh Eachach as an gCaighdeán Oifigiúil a cuireadh ar fáil an bhliain seo caite. Measaim gur cáipéis iontach tábhachtach é an caighdeán athbhreithnithe. Molaim do scoileanna ar fud na...
- Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2012 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: Ba mhaith liom tacaÃocht a thabhairt don reachtaÃocht seo. Tá áthas orm go bhfuil an Bille ag dul trÃd. Ba mhaith liom buÃochas a ghabháil le Coimisiún Thithe an Oireachtais agus le Vivian UÃbh Eachach as an gCaighdeán Oifigiúil a cuireadh ar fáil an bhliain seo caite. Measaim gur cáipéis iontach tábhachtach é an caighdeán athbhreithnithe. Molaim do scoileanna ar fud na...
- Seanad: Promissory Note Arrangement: Statements (14 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: Members of the public want this deal explained to them in detail and have reacted in a manner similar to the manner in which my party reacted. They, too, have given it a qualified welcome because they want to know the details and how the deal will impact on their lives. A great deal of disappointment has been expressed about the reaction of the Labour Party, both in Cabinet and in the...
- Seanad: Order of Business (14 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: I acknowledge the passing of one of our former colleagues, former Senator Jimmy Mulroy, who served in the Seanad between 1987 and 1989 and served as Mayor of Drogheda and a member of Louth County Council for a number of years. Presumably there will be formal tributes in due course but he was an honest and successful man in business and in sport and I would like to express my sympathy to his...
- Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: That is the problem.
- Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: Senator O'Donnell asked Fianna Fáil to second the motion and I am delighted to do so. She will start a national debate on this which is very welcome because people are not fully up to speed with what is happening. Her motion is moderate and in tune with the public. Fianna Fáil has opposed the establishment of a regulator but this is neither here nor there with regard to the motion. We...
- Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: Blaming relatively young Fianna Fáil members for what happened in 1997 must stop. I was in college then. The Minister was a Minister back when I joined Fianna Fáil.
- Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: That is how long ago this was. I am not answerable for it.
- Seanad: National Lottery: Motion (13 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: I can say I often raised the question as to why money was never ring-fenced. The money one pays for a national lottery ticket goes from the newsagent through An Post straight to the Exchequer. One then hopes a Minister will spend it on the good causes on which one expects it to be spent, but this is not the practical reality. I am very concerned about the lack of a legal commitment or a...
- Seanad: Order of Business (7 Feb 2013)
Thomas Byrne: They just do not understand the deal.
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Tax Code (31 Jan 2013)
Thomas Byrne: I have not argued that the site value tax would be fairer in the commuter belt. The Government suggested that households would be in a worse position under a site value tax, but that is not necessarily true. Sites in those areas are much smaller than sites in other areas. The Government's argument does not necessarily stand up, but I am not making the counterpoint. There is no link in the...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Tax Code (31 Jan 2013)
Thomas Byrne: Gabhaim buÃochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach as mo ábhar a roghnú ar an Athló sa Seanad. This matter is very important. There is huge unfairness with the property tax in general and this unfairness particularly manifests itself in the commuter belt in Dublin, particularly in areas of south County Meath. The property tax is based on a market value approach which does not take into...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Industrial Development (24 Jan 2013)
Thomas Byrne: I accept much of what the Minister says, but it is disappointing that there were no site visits. Site visits are, presumably, part of the way in which the IDA attracts companies to Ireland, in that it offers a menu of places. I ask the Minister to be conscious of the Drogheda Business and Technology Park which is, in fact, located in County Meath. It has an international financial services...