Results 1,241-1,260 of 2,414 for speaker:Fintan Warfield

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I think I have provided a very good amendment that I might push to a vote.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I move amendment No. 5: In page 8, to delete line 13. My amendment relates to the Land Development Agency, LDA. As members will be aware, Sinn Féin is opposed to the involvement of the agency. We do not accept the need for a new State agency for public housing delivery; rather, and I have mentioned this in the debate on previous amendments, we remain convinced that resourcing local...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: The ideological point, if there is one, is that I am opposed to public land - the people's land and the land that everyone owns regardless of how much money they have - being used for unaffordable housing on the open market, being sold off cheaply and being used for houses that will cost well above what people who already own that land will be able to afford. That is the pattern I am opposed to.

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: For the purpose of the debate, I wish to reflect on a parliamentary question submitted in August 2020, the response to which indicated that €256.9 million was spent on public private partnerships in 2019. The public private partnership model has been criticised by numerous bodies, including the European Court of Auditors, for not delivering for taxpayers' money, not being efficient...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I move amendment No. 10: In page 8, lines 25 and 26, to delete “counteract undue segregation in housing between persons of different social backgrounds” and substitute “promote sustainable mixed income communities”. If there is an amendment on which we might find consensus on today, it is this one. I think I am right in saying that Senator Higgins has a...

Seanad: Affordable Housing Bill 2021: Committee Stage (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I apologise that I am only returning to the debate now. I welcome the fact that consensus has been found on this amendment.

Seanad: Search and Rescue System: Motion (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: Senator Buttimer should speak through the Chair.

Seanad: Search and Rescue System: Motion (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: Senator Buttimer is saying "you".

Seanad: Search and Rescue System: Motion (28 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I welcome this opportunity and commend Senator Craughwell on tabling the motion. I commend all those who work in search and rescue, SAR, services and in the Defence Forces on their bravery and service. The service is literally life-saving. It involves a multi-year, multimillion euro contract. The current contract is worth between €50 million and €60 million per year so it is...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I thank Ms Gibney and her team for both the submission from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the statement today. I have a simple question which follows on from previous ones. We were talking about the independence of the commissioner and the need for him or her to operate without undue influence from Government. I am wondering about the proposed funding model for the...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: No. The Minister is proposing that the funding model for the commission be through a levy on the regulated services so the commission would be funded by the services themselves.

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (26 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: That is fine. I thank Ms Gibney.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: The conversation about Seanad reform has slowed. The programme for Government is completely silent on the need for Seanad reform. I am concerned that the conversation has slowed. We have had a Bill from Senator McDowell and others. This is essentially the work of the Seanad reform implementation group that was set up by Deputy Leo Varadkar when he was Taoiseach. I do not want the work of...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. I want to focus on the content levy. Sky has made a number of observations about it that depart somewhat from the statements from the other witnesses about how the introduction of the content levy would possibly be distortional, be complex and might have unintended consequences. I do not really agree. The conversation we should be having is...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: Why is Sky comfortable with the content levy or even an investment obligation in other European countries? Sky Italia pays an investment obligation, which I believe is 12.5%. A levy in Germany dates back to the 1960s. Why are Sky's companies in those states comfortable with the content levy while it is pushing back against it here or seeking to delay it?

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: That is fine. I have made my point that a levy is a standard tool for supporting domestic production on mainland Europe. It might not be very British or Irish but I do not believe we should delay it. By delaying, we are losing investment in Irish production. Mr. Esslemont mentioned the difficulty in getting fair play from Sky. Are there other platforms that display a lack of...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I wish to return to Saorview which was mentioned in the last discussion in terms of how viewers might receive terrestrial stations and content in the future. For now, the number of television homes with Saorview or Saorview combined with a British terrestrial service is growing. I know a lack of resources is at play here but my concern is that it is not the only issue. The Commission for...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (20 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: Is a significant State investment needed to ensure that the people who pay their television licence get a high definition, HD, TG4 on terrestrial, rather than having to pay for Sky, where they will get a HD TG4? Would it be a significant State investment to ensure that for the next decade we have a fully HD range of channels, including a kids' TG4, for example?

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (19 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: I echo Deputy Griffin's comments. I have a question for the representatives Facebook. Today, Twitter made the same call as Facebook and requested that the proposed legislation to be delayed until the enactment of the EU Digital Services Act. The Digital Services Act does not make any major policy changes in the harmful content area. Therefore, I do not see how a delay would have any...

Joint Committee on Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht: General Scheme of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2020: Discussion (Resumed) (19 May 2021)

Fintan Warfield: The Digital Services Act does not make any changes whatsoever in respect of harmful online content. In fact, online safety legislation in Britain has been delayed by the British Government. It has been suggested that Mark Zuckerberg threatened to pull investment from the UK. Records from a 2018 meeting show that he might look elsewhere in Europe to invest. We have seen the legislation be...