Results 781-800 of 951 for speaker:Garret Ahearn

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by Members of the European Parliament (2 Nov 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the four MEPs, and particularly my colleague, Ms Fitzgerald. The EU recovery and resilience facility, RRF, is a huge funding programme all about building back better. It took a serious amount of negotiation. Everyone will recall the five days of the European Council summit back in July 2020 where EU leaders agreed on its broad outlines and a seven-year EU budget. How was the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate Action: Reduction of Carbon Emissions of 51% by 2030: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Nov 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I thank everybody for their contributions. I want to recognise my neighbour, Mr. Traas. The engagement today has been very positive, particularly from Dr. Dunford and Dr. Moran in terms of their narrative that this is not about farmers against anybody else but about bringing farmers along with us. It was stated that the best way to do that is to support farmers financially and because that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I will follow on from Senator Craughwell's comments regarding the emails, which I am sure everyone will have received, in respect of the Leader's comments last week. These comments were in response to comments I made to her in respect of the digital Covid certificate. I just want to show support for the comments she made. Everything the Government is doing in bringing forward measures is...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the announcement by the Taoiseach earlier today on the continued use of digital Covid certificates. It is something I raised in the Chamber last week. I did so because I felt there was an opportunity to protect businesses and people. It is good that the announcement was made today, and it is significant because a number of measures would not have been possible today if we did not...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (19 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: That is correct.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: As we are seeing an increase in the number of Covid-19-positive patients in hospital and intensive care units, we must consider the best approach to lifting the remaining restrictions before Friday of next week. I know that many people wish to continue going into bars and restaurants over the winter months, but the prospect of sitting beside unvaccinated groups in the absence of public...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome back the members of the Opposition. They were missing last night, for large periods of time, and I was covering the Opposition benches for quite a long time. It is great to see them back. They obviously had nothing to contribute on the budget yesterday. Three Bank of Ireland branches have closed in the past number of days in County Tipperary in Cahir, Cashel and Templemore. It...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: It was essentially a conversation between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil about the budget. That was what we were doing.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I was on my own over here.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I would like to speak on an announcement in the budget as well and I welcome the significant €898 million funding towards the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment in particular. There is a €91 million increase in capital funding in that Department, which represents a 21% increase. I want to focus on decisions that were made on the employment wage subsidy scheme,...

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (12 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the Minister of State to the Seanad. The Chamber is full of representatives of the Government but there are no Opposition Senators present. If there is anything telling about today's announcement by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, it is that no Opposition Senator has been here since before I...

Seanad: Budget 2022: Statements (12 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: In that case, I have a number of initiatives to welcome but Senators from the Opposition are free to come in and interject. From my own perspective, as someone coming from a rural constituency I welcome that as a Government, we have decided to again increase funding for all rural projects across the country. Since its establishment in 2017, the Department of Rural and Community Development...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Care Services (7 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I, too, welcome the Minister of State to the Chamber. I appreciate his presence. I welcome the announcement yesterday by the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, of €308,000 to fund digital training for carers to assist them in gaining employment, the appointment of a new well-being manager and investment under the Dormant Accounts Fund to make European carers day. In...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Care Services (7 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I thank the Minister of State for what he stated regarding the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan. In fairness, Deputy Feighan was in County Tipperary only a couple of weeks ago and he met a dementia group regarding the work it does and the support it needs. He is well aware of it. Most of the requests I am talking about are essentially in the programme for Government and all I ask is that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: Senator Ward named four or five people from Dublin in the context of National Women's Enterprise Day. I would like to mention my sister-in-law, Jennifer, who runs a business at home in County Tipperary.She runs a whiskey business at Tipperary Distillery. She just had a baby a couple of weeks ago.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: Like a lot of women who are self-employed and who run a business, she is back at work already, bottling whiskey. I ask the Leader to organise a debate in regard to the roll-out of broadband. Broadband is being rolled out at the moment and, obviously, it was the previous Government which put this through, essentially. The speed of it needs to increase. There are people in Tipperary at...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (6 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: When one talks about common sense, I ask Members to wait until they hear this one.Funeral directors in Cashel, County Tipperary, received a letter from Tipperary County Council last week, stating that the payment for funerals must be made before the burial takes place. I do not know if everyone in this House has experienced going to a funeral director and the interaction involved. There are...

Seanad: Registration of Wills Bill 2021: Second Stage (6 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: - "the Bill be read a second time this day 9 months to allow for comprehensive consideration of the implications of the Bill." I note the comments of Senator Boyhan. In fairness, this amendment is not about opposing the Bill. Rather, it is about ensuring it is given full consideration, as is expected...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Oct 2021)

Garret Ahearn: I welcome the announcement this morning by the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, that the community employment scheme and Tús participants who were due to leave their schemes in November will now have their contracts funded until 4 February 2022. There are approximately 13,500 people working on those schemes across the country, including many good people working in Tipperary who support Tidy...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2021)

Garret Ahearn: The review of the national development plan, NDP, is expected to be announced in Cork next week after agreement by the Cabinet. The NDP contains a lot of road projects of which the N20 from Cork to Limerick is one. In my view and that of a lot of people, the most important road project is the N24 that links Limerick to Waterford. Once that road is completed every single city in this...