Results 11,001-11,020 of 26,843 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children and Family Services Provision (13 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 32. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to the fact that there are no assurances of the necessary funding which makes it likely that a service (details supplied) will have to close by April 2019 with the loss of six jobs and numerous clients; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7149/19]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children and Family Services Provision (13 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The Minister is very familiar with this case; I asked her about it several times since the middle of last year. I asked that she would do what she could to secure the necessary funding to avert what is now the imminent closure of the Cottage Home family support service in Shankill, which provides vital intervention and support services for vulnerable families and children to keep them out of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Children and Family Services Provision (13 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I do not doubt that the Minister has tried, but I just do not understand this. Hundreds of millions of euro have been wasted on the national children's hospital, and we are looking for €400,000 to keep a service that we know works. It provides support for 50 vulnerable families and their children, which saves the State a lot of money down the road. If this service is closed, and the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Mother and Baby Homes Inquiries (13 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 44. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the reason for the extension of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes; if this will be the final extension to the investigation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6984/19]

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Affordable Childcare Scheme (13 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 51. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the affordable childcare schemes available to low and middle-income families; the status of the new affordable childcare scheme that was first announced in 2016; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6985/19]

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child and Family Agency Funding (13 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 52. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the necessary funding will be secured to ensure that vulnerable families are not left without a service (details supplied) in view of the prospect of the closure of the service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6983/19]

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Child Poverty (13 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 61. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if her attention has been drawn to a new campaign (details supplied) by an organisation and its five key demands relating to food poverty, health, exclusion, education and housing; the way in which she plans to respond to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6986/19]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I will take Deputy Gino Kenny's question.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It has.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disabilities Data (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Ten years after we promised to do so, we passed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is good to have an aspiration although, noticeably, we ducked out of the proper option on monitoring. To what extent will the Minister ensure this is made a reality in terms of access to public transport for the disabled and the disability-proofing of public transport?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disabilities Data (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Very simply, if a wheelchair user is trying to get on the DART, he or she will face extreme difficulty in many cases. He or she must give advance notice. At some stations, one simply cannot get on. One certainly has to give very significant advance notice. This unfortunate, unequal and discriminatory situation suffered by people with disabilities has been exacerbated by the removal of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disabilities Data (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: On one level, that is an improvement. I acknowledge improvements where they exist, just as I acknowledge the belated but nonetheless welcome signing of the UN convention. This is undermined, however, when decisions are made to reduce staff numbers or remove staff at DART stations or other areas. Often, the real assistance needed to ensure access is from a human being working in public...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Disabilities Data (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That is why staff are needed in the train stations.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 56. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he will report on plans in the taxi industry to introduce ride-sharing; his recommendations for regulating same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6721/19]

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Before Christmas, a significant number of taxi drivers contacted me regarding their concerns at plans by parts of the taxi industry to introduce a taxi ride-sharing scheme. The taxi drivers believe the scheme could cause significant difficulty, particularly in terms of passenger and driver safety, and would massively disrupt the taxi business. What knowledge does the Minister have of this...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am all for proper regulation of the industry. We should keep Uber out because users of that service do not know who their driver will be or whether the vehicle will be safe or properly regulated. However, that is not the issue I wish to raise. My question regards a proposal by Mytaxi to bring in a ride-share scheme. If there is a big queue at a taxi rank late at night and one proposes...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: What is the role of the Minister in terms of preserving the livelihood of taxi drivers and passenger safety?

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It was a throwaway remark.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Taxi Regulations (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am glad to hear that. I ask the Minister to look into the matter further and send out a clear message that what would be a very dramatic change with potentially very negative consequences will not be allowed and that any such proposal will be thoroughly investigated and weighed up and the subject of proper public consultation. Broadly speaking, we should not allow ride-sharing because it...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (12 Feb 2019)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The obnoxiousness and political bankruptcy of the Tory Brexiteers and UKIP mean that just about anybody else looks good compared to them but in recent weeks it has maybe masked the lack of principle and ethics of the EU itself, when one looks at how it is dealing with events that are unfolding in Catalonia or, for that matter, Venezuela. The Europe that proclaims itself as an upholder of...