Results 8,061-8,080 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The former Minister applied for the pension in September 2006. The case was put to the Tánaiste when this Bill was being prepared in March 2007 and a recommendation was made to amend the legislation in line with the legislation covering public and civil servants to do away with the anomaly. The Tánaiste agreed to this. The Bill was published on 20 April 2007 and has been in the public...

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Not that I am aware of.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: This is a right and an entitlement. I am surprised that people such as my learned colleague would seek to deny the right of an individual to a proper pension. He is entitled to it in the same way as anybody else. Senior civil servants are entitled to it. Deputy Michael Woods was entitled to it. There was an anomaly in the law which he brought to the attention of the civil servants...

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Senator should have a word with his colleagues.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Senator obviously was not listening.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Senators were told anything but. The Opposition was wide awake and raised the issue.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: I made it quite clear they were awake.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: I was giving the Opposition credit.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: I reiterate that there is absolutely no sleight of hand. There are a number of miscellaneous provisions in the Bill including this one. On Second Stage the Tánaiste stated: Section 16 makes amendments to the provisions dealing with ministerial pensions, as follows. First, former office holders — Ministers and Ministers of State — on leaving service are entitled to receive severance...

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: ——the Senator is accusing the audience — thanks be to God we are denuded of an audience — of being dumb, which I would never say.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Senator said that this is getting murkier and murkier. I read out the chronology of events, which is apparent and open. The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance in everything he did was absolutely above board. He read it into the record of the House. It is included in the Bill itself. It was raised in the Dáil. It was dealt with and answered in a positive way by saying that a former...

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: There is no sleight of hand here. It is as transparent as could be. I am astonished that the Senator, the upholder of rights, on this occasion would deny the right to a politician because he is a politician.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: That is exactly what he is saying.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: We are not aware of any other comparable anomaly in the Department at the moment. The garda case is not a similar case in any circumstances.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The primary purpose of section 19 is to enable the Financial Regulator to regulate and oversee the conduct of business by firms in the non-deposit-taking lending sector, which lend to the general public and to small businesses. It does so by bringing non-deposit-taking lenders engaged in retail lending within the Financial Regulator's authorisation and ongoing supervision regime by way of an...

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Senator can, however, besmirch innocent people and has no problem in doing so. Nor does his party.

Seanad: Markets in Financial Instruments and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (31 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Tánaiste and Minister for Finance is at an important Government meeting. The Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Noel Ahern, is at an official function so I am delighted to have the opportunity to deal with this issue——

Written Answers — Anti-Social Behaviour: Anti-Social Behaviour (25 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Action to deal with anti-social behaviour is primarily an issue for the Garda Síochána and legislation in this regard is the responsibility of the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Landlords are, however, responsible for enforcing the obligations that apply to their tenants under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. The Act, in this regard, prohibits a private rental tenant...

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (25 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Social Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, currently being drafted, is expected to be published in early 2008. Work on addressing the complex legal issues relating to the tenant purchase of local authority apartments and maisonettes is being advanced in that context.

Written Answers — Housing Aid for the Elderly: Housing Aid for the Elderly (24 Oct 2007)

Batt O'Keeffe: Funding towards the cost of home adaptations for the disabled is currently provided through the local authorities under the Disabled Persons Grant scheme. My Department recently announced a new Housing Adaptation Grant for People with a Disability and this will come into operation on 1 November, 2007. The new grant may cover up to 95% of the cost of works and the maximum grant is being...