Results 1,041-1,060 of 5,587 for speaker:Kevin Humphreys

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: As the Minister is moving through them quickly, amendment No. 1an proposes to substitute €150 with €1,000. It would future proof the Bill as the section allows for lower amounts to be specified for contravention of canal by-laws. A sum of €150 is a little low. Will the Minister reflect on the matter and consider increasing the figure? It might mean not having to amend...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: It is quite obvious from the support expressed in the House that all of the major groupings have said "Tá". Traditionally, a question is declared lost if a Government Senator says "Níl", but it is quite obvious that there is support in the House for the amendment. In a voice vote I would say "Tá". I also think the Minister might be inclined to accept the amendment.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I move amendment No. 1an:In page 7, line 42, to delete “€150” and substitute “€1,000”.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: A floating community, including families and children, is developing in Grand Canal Dock. We need to be very careful about search warrants and so on. We need to recognise that we are talking about people's homes, and people should have the same rights and protection under the law as any one else. I understand that to be the intention of the Minister. The community to which I refer has a...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I have a real problem with this. It might not go far enough in collecting information over a three-year baseline but we need a baseline. The Minister's officials told us that three or four counties were sensitive to this but we do not have enough information. The first thing to do is put in place a database so that we know what we have and to know what we damage and do not damage. The...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: -----and everybody here should accept that. When Senator Alice-Mary Higgins tabled amendments which would have greatly improved the road safety aspect of dealing with hedgerows her proposals fell on deaf ears. I agree with Senator Norris that the measure must be opposed. I call on Members to support the amendment because at the very least one must support good science, which is what it is....

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: The Minister spoke about the baseline study.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I have to respond to the earlier remarks. I am very supportive of the Irish farming community. We would not have the landscape we have without the farmers. They have cared for the environment. We have what we have because of them. In this House, we have actually listened to each other. We may have started from different places but we have moved closer together. At a very early stage, I...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Let us invite BirdWatch Ireland, the tillage farmers, the livestock farmers and the small farmers in and let us have a very informed and focused debate about section 8 to see if it should be brought forward. I certainly support the previous Senator's position that we should drop section 8 completely. If we do not, I will vote for this amendment too.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: No it is the group. We are speaking on the group.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: The Minister has said she will remove grubbing and destroying at the next stage and I want to acknowledge that progress. Senator Ó Domhnaill tabled the amendment 3b, to delete "land" and substitute "roadside" which meant that internal fields could not be cut. I want to mention that I have an amendment which would mean that 10% of hedgerows in the State. A huge quantity of hedgerows...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: Earlier in this debate, which we started many months ago, Senator Lombard let the cat out of the bag by remarking that if people had a couple of weeks' downtime in August, what else would they do but cut their hedges. After his very passionate speech about bringing people together, I remind Senator Lombard that the first people who started calling people names was the Minister of State,...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: The Senator should think of that if he wants to talk about dividing. The Senator played the political card here today. Fianna Fáil has tried to bring a compromise, thought-out amendment yet the Senator threatens them that they will lose the farmers' vote. Is that the position the Senator started at - to try to win the farmers' vote, to divide communities?

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: The Senator has not.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: This is a compromise. The Senator raised this very early in the debate when he was a member of Fianna Fáil. I am not fully satisfied with the compromise but I see a logic to it. Politics is about trying to move a step forward. I will be supporting the amendment reluctantly.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: The responsibility we have here is to ensure the legislation that comes out of the Seanad is robust and correct. What happens in the Dáil happens in the Dáil. We have a responsibility to make sure we pass the best possible legislation here. The Fianna Fáil amendment is an improvement. If we are talking about a pilot scheme, amendment No. 3c, which is in my name, proposes...

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I move amendment No. 3a:In page 12, lines 2 and 3, to delete ", grubbing or destroying otherwise". I moved the amendment but I will not press it because the Minister has indicated that she will come back on Report Stage.

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I move amendment No. 3c:In page 12, line 4, after "land" to insert the following:"in such part or parts of the State as specified in the regulations, but covering an area no greater than 10 per cent of the hedgerows in the State".

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I shall be brief. The Minister asked the direct question of whether we trust farmers. Yes, I do. Do it trust the vast majority of citizens? Yes, I do but we still passed legislation to stop people breaking into our homes. We still need to pass legislation that will protect the environment. Do I trust the vast majority of farmers? Of course I do. This is not a them and us situation....

Seanad: Heritage Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Mar 2017)

Kevin Humphreys: I understand that we have finished section 8.