Results 7,921-7,940 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The budget has been cut further by the current Government and the limits are now below market rents.
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I agree with the Senator. In fact, I agree with every point she has made.
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: School Staffing (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Tá mé buÃoch den Chathaoirleach as ucht an deis seo a thabhairt dom an t-ábhar seo a lua ar an Athló anocht. I raise the Department?s current position on the allocation of teachers to Ratoath junior national school. An unprecedented number of parents have been in touch with my colleague in Ratoath, Councillor Nick Killian, and a number of parents have been in touch with me. They are...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: School Staffing (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The Minister of State might bring to the attention of the Minister for Education and Skills and the appeal board that the figures indicated in the reply on pupil numbers are not those I was given by the principal this morning. I hope the Department has the correct figures. I will check the position immediately with the school. My child started school this year in the junior infants? class...
- Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Sugar Beet Industry (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I second the amendment proposed by Senator O'Brien who raised a very serious issue in regard to health. No answer has been given by the Government in spite of the hand-wringing on television and radio Senator O'Brien referred to, on the part of the Labour Party in particular. A very serious matter arises in Brussels, not only for the Taoiseach but for the entire country. Last June the...
- Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Blaming Fianna Fáil is losing the Labour Party votes.
- Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: What about the commitments in the programme for Government?
- Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Blaming Fianna Fáil is losing the Labour Party votes.
- Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: What about the commitments in the programme for Government?
- Seanad: Order of Business (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I second the amendment proposed by Senator O'Brien who raised a very serious issue in regard to health. No answer has been given by the Government in spite of the hand-wringing on television and radio Senator O'Brien referred to, on the part of the Labour Party in particular. A very serious matter arises in Brussels, not only for the Taoiseach but for the entire country. Last June the...
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The social protection system is currently in a state of complete and utter chaos. It is overwhelmed by the economy. It is also overwhelmed by the fact the Government refused to take any decisions on levels of payment last year, so that the Labour Party could say it was keeping its promise not to cut welfare rates.
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: We cut welfare rates twice, so we are not pretending we did not do these things. We cut everything possible.
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: However, what the Labour Party and Fine Gael have done instead is to knock whole swathes of people off the welfare rolls entirely, by disqualifying people on dodgy grounds with regard to applications for disability allowance and by refusing to bring people on to invalidity pension from illness benefit. At my clinic every Monday morning in Kells and every Friday morning in Duleek, I hear of...
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: There is a refusal to put people on invalidity pension, where they are clearly unable to work. What should happen is that they be put on that pension, but it is not happening. Those people are being cut off the system completely in an unfair manner. Applications for carer's allowance are being delayed. In some cases, people being cared for are dying during the application process, which is...
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: Nobody liked making cuts, but we did it in a fair way
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: It is on the record I voted for that.
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: What is happening is that the Government parties are saying there were no cuts.
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: There is no legal, political or any other definition of a core payment. Deputy Burton is not able to give such a definition when questioned. However, I can tell the House that for an elderly lady in Kells who is saving up for a tank of oil, the fuel allowance is very much a core payment. The Minister would be better off being straight and honest with the people. It would be better for her...
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: The budget has been cut further by the current Government and the limits are now below market rents.
- Seanad: Social Protection: Statements (Resumed) (18 Oct 2012)
Thomas Byrne: I agree with the Senator. In fact, I agree with every point she has made.