Results 7,821-7,840 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Defence Forces Personnel (15 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: A couple of points arise and there are some major contradictions in the Minister of State's comments. He indicated that vacancies would be given within current locations where feasible but says there are no vacancies in Gormanston. He mentioned the possibility of a review of the decision but that was not brought to my attention by the wives and family members who approached me. I do not...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Defence Forces Personnel (15 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Here we go again. The Government cannot tear up a banker's contract but it can tear up the contracts of loyal Irish Air Corps service men. They serve the country and have done only good for it.
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Defence Forces Personnel (15 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The Opposition of the time went against everything we did but the Government is now claiming credit for it.
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Defence Forces Personnel (15 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Kehoe, is here to reply to my matter which relates to the Department of Defence. This matter relates to the apparent unfair treatment of approximately ten members of the Air Corps based at Gormanston Camp. In 2001, the Air Corps was based in Gormanston and Baldonnel. However, following a restructuring process the section of the Air Corps based in...
- Seanad: Chalara fraxinea (Ash Dieback Disease): Statements (15 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The more one reads about this crisis that has hit Britain and is now hitting Ireland, the more one is reminded of the lines in the Lament for Kilcash:Cad a dhéanfaimid feasta gan adhmad? Tá deireadh na gcoillte ar lár;That is coming true before our very eyes. The country is facing an environmental, ecological and economic disaster and I am not sure the public at large fully understand the...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Crime Prevention (14 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for her response. I pay tribute to the Garda SÃochána, which is working hard in local communities. I put particular emphasis on community alert, neighbourhood watch and the joint policing committees. More needs to be done in the teeth of Operation Fiacla. Statistics show that burglary, in particular, is increasing. I acknowledge that other crimes, such as...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Crime Prevention (14 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I am grateful to the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to raise this issue, which was listed as "The need for the Minister for Justice and Equality to tackle rural crime". I do not expect him to go out to defuse riots like Churchill did when he was Home Secretary. It would be an interesting proposition but it is not necessary. There is no question rural crime has reached epidemic levels....
- Seanad: Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (14 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire ar ais go dtà an Teach arÃs inniu. We want to support this Bill. We believe it is important and that anyone who opposes it is opposing the will of the people in the referendum that was held some time ago. The Bill, effectively, was tied up in the fiscal treaty and there are some extra provisions in it but anyone who opposes it is going against the will of the...
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: No, we saved it.
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Fine Gael voted against it.
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Fine Gael did not assist in any way in opposition.
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The Minister of State and his colleagues told us that.
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: What does the Minister of State consider as low-hanging fruit - pay cuts and welfare cuts?
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: There is all this nonsense that it was only low-hanging fruit that we cut in the ¤24 billion, every penny of which the Minister of State's party opposed.
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: This is old rubbish.
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: We thought the Government would introduce different policies after the public rejected our policies, but it has brought in the same policies.
- Seanad: The Economy: Statements (13 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I apologise to the Cathaoirleach and the Minister of State for my absence for the early part of his speech. I had thought a colleague would be here in my stead. I thank the Minister of State for outlining the Government's position and thank him for coming to the Seanad, as he so frequently does. The picture the Minister of State and the Government paint of the economy, however, is more rosy...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Pre-Budget Submissions: Discussion with Civic Society Representatives (9 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: No. I apologise for being late.
- Seanad: Matter raised under Standing Order 30 (8 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I endorse what my colleague has said about the importance of a strong "Yes" vote in the referendum, for which Fianna Fáil is continuing to press the case. However, that task has been made more difficult by the Government's actions in this regard. It follows on from criticisms made during the fiscal treaty referendum and the rejection of the Oireachtas inquiries referendum last year....
- Seanad: Public Expenditure and Reform: Statements (8 Nov 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Like with mobile telephony.