Results 7,941-7,960 of 9,823 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: School Staffing (18 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: Tá mé buíoch 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: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: I pay tribute to the Minister but I also claim joint credit on behalf of my party because we put the Bill through the Dáil. Unfortunately the election occurred subsequently. We have waited patiently for this Government to bring it forward almost one and a half years after it entered office. We support the Bill and the Ombudsman. The Ombudsman has received many tributes from the House in...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: I have no objection to this proposal which I support, but I wish to highlight the failures of this and the last Government in regard to mergers in general. The merger of the Competition Authority and the National Consumer Agency was announced as long ago as late 2008. It struggled under the last Government and seems to be struggling under this one. There are many other examples of agencies...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: Tá mise sásta leis an freagra a thug an tAire do Seanadóir Ó Clochartaigh. Measaim go bhfuil sé réasúnta go bhfuil Acht na Teangacha Oifigiúla curtha i bhfeidhm ag an Ombudsman agus ag na daoine eile a luaigh sé. Ag an am céanna, tá sé tábhachtach go mbeadh daoine sna hoifigí sin in ann teagmháil a dhéanamh trí Ghaeilge. Ach, caithfidh an Rialtas na hacmhainní a...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: Perhaps this was already discussed, but I was not here during the last debate. Regarding section 9, the Labour Party put forward an amendment in the Dáil when Fianna Fáil was in government in 2010. That amendment proposed the introduction of a new subsection 3A, stating that, "A reviewable agency shall comply with a recommendation of the Ombudsman". There has been a change in Labour...

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: I am making the point on the section, where the Labour Party proposed ---

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: He is a good man.

Seanad: Ombudsman (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (17 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: While I do not object to the amendment, I am concerned about the power to designate a committee of the Houses. The legislation should provide that the Oireachtas shall engage in a specific activity rather than allowing a Minister based in Merrion Street to retain the power to tell the Oireachtas what it should do. This goes against the grain of the stated intentions of the Government, as...

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: It is not like that.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: It did. We were rejected out of hand and out of office.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: We did not present this Bill to the Oireachtas.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: They may have paid everything else.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: They might have to pay the banks.

Seanad: Valuation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: When I first encountered this Bill, it was with some surprise that I discovered it fell within the remit of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It should be under the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The question of rates is central to the issue of jobs, especially given the fact that small and medium-sized enterprises, SMEs, are being crucified by rates. An...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: We do not hear that too often.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: He acknowledged that.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: I wish the Acting Leader well in his temporary role.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Oct 2012)

Thomas Byrne: As I also am in a temporary role, this is from one temp to another.