Results 12,441-12,460 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is not a point of order.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I was asked about an extraneous point in this legislation - whether allowances should be payable to people who walk away or are expelled from their parties - and I am giving my answer.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Free speech is a two-way stream. I know some people are very loud when they walk away on their preciousness. I am talking through the Chair. Everybody is allowed to speak freely and they should not be shouted down because their views are different.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Senator Bradford continues to shout me down. I believe that if people feel they cannot abide by their party pledge and certainly if they are in the other House, the appropriate moral thing to do is to resign their seat and test the people. If the people want to elect an Independent, that should accrue to them. That would be my personal view. It is slightly more complicated in this House...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I thank Senators for their contributions and their support for this legislation. Everybody who spoke expressed support for the Bill, by and large. It is not easy to be the Minister who is always coming in to seek expenditure reductions. I wanted to put on the record the extent of the reductions already made by the political system. I do not think it is well known that the Taoiseach takes...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: For everybody.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is what I am saying. I am extending it fully to Independents who have not been required before now to comply with external auditing or to submit documents to the Standards in Public Office Commission. We are expanding the role of the commission, for example by giving it an entitlement to give guidance and produce guidelines in relation to these matters. I think that will be helpful....

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It can be characterised as a "workspace" or as anything else the Senator might choose. I think it is a reasonable request to make. When I examined the proposal, that mere fact was enough to get front-page coverage in some newspapers.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The fact that I was considering it was regarded as an extraordinary deed in and of itself.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: To put it bluntly, I think there are things we can do in calmer times and things we can do when we are still in retrenchment mode. I do not think anything that adds to cost can be pursued by us now.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I would like to be allowed to speak, please. There are legal difficulties with regard to this specific matter. The advice I have received is that the Seanad is not constituency-based in the sense that the entire country is a constituency. The notion of defining where a constituency office or workspace should be located presents legal difficulty. I think it is something we need to reflect...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Please, allow me to speak.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I do not think it is possible to do it now. I do not want to get bogged down in that, as I have said, because I do not want it to take away from the really important legislation that is before us. Senator Quinn spoke about the pension levy. We get confused sometimes. Of course the pension levy only applies to the private sector, but there are other levies that apply to the public sector....

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is very true.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: So the Senator was not elected by Fine Gael councillors exclusively.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It exists here.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Actually, it is stronger than the one in the North.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Not according to the Constitution.

Seanad: Visit of Chinese Delegation (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I add my word of welcome to our distinguished colleagues and I hope they have an enjoyable stay in Ireland.

Seanad: Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (6 Nov 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I was about to set out the specifics of how the reform of governance is being achieved. The extension of the Ombudsman's jurisdiction and powers through the Ombudsman (Amendment) Act 2012, which was debated extensively in this House and came into effect last October, resulted in the most significant expansion in the jurisdiction of the Ombudsman in the 30 years since the original legislation...