Results 13,621-13,640 of 26,901 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett

UK Withdrawal from the EU: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Not for sure.

UK Withdrawal from the EU: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is important, when considering the issue of Brexit and what is happening in the European Union more generally, that we do not lose sight of the wood for the trees. We are always in danger of doing precisely that on a whole range of issues and certainly on the issue of Brexit. We will try to focus on issues that I fully accept are very important for the many who are affected and the...

UK Withdrawal from the EU: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is exactly what is happening in Germany I am afraid. The areas where the far right has grown are the poorest parts of east Germany where services have been cut, unemployment is higher, de-industrialisation has taken place and jobs have been lost. That is where the far right grew. There are 14 million people unemployed in the eurozone and 18 million unemployed in the wider European...

UK Withdrawal from the EU: Statements (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is a fact. The problem is that if we do not recognise what people are feeling, they will look for nastier alternatives. If we state clearly, however, that the problems of inequality, poverty, deprivation and the growing gap between rich and poor need to be addressed and if we identify what policies created these problems in the first place, we can win over the allegiance of people who...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 41. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans for new legislation to ensure proper wages and conditions for workers and full tax compliance, with particular emphasis on bogus self-employment, in all public contracts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40479/17]

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I ask the Minister to answer the question both in respect of individual instances and the general principle. Should companies that get public contracts, that are then found to be in breach of the law and of fire safety standards and that fail to comply with the tax code be banned for ever from being awarded public contracts? I will go into a little more detail. Before the summer recess, I...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Okay. I will return to the issue of Western Building Systems.

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: On 5 July last, I pointed out in the House that workers had been working on a public contract for Purcell Construction, which is the developer, and Rapid Developments, the subcontractor. The workers were employed since April or May and still had not received payslips. Even after I raised the matter with the Minister, which was followed by a raid by the joint investigation unit, JIU -...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: That was a scripted answer telling us what we already know. I have given two examples of companies that received significant public contracts worth a great deal of money. There is proof in the case of Western Building Systems and strong evidence in the case of Purcell Construction and Rapid Developments, in the Dolphin's Barn development, that they are breaking the law. In the...

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is not.

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The Minister of State did not quote all of the question.

Other Questions: Public Procurement Contracts (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: I am asking if there will be sanctions against companies that are not in compliance.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: Can the Minister explain the extraordinary fact that Educate Together repeatedly asked the Department of Education and Skills to release details of the building inspection reports and the Department refused to do so? This looks like an active attempt to suppress the fire safety issues affecting these schools, which is to my mind extraordinary and unconscionable. Can the Minister explain his...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It is guilty on at least two of them.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: There was a specific question about Whitehall College of Further Education.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: It involves our friends in Western Building Systems. They are great guys.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Breaches of Fire Safety Standards: Discussion (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: The fact that the Minister is now acknowledging that the Department should have informed schools but did not is an admission of a cover-up. That is what happened. If I understood the Minister correctly, the cover-up has been ongoing since 2008 when it was first discovered that there were problems in some schools. Some of the problems were identified as early as 2008, but was it in 2015...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 49. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he has satisfied himself that there is sufficient transparency, accountability and oversight in the area of top level appointments in the public sector; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40481/17]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Staff Recruitment (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 50. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform his plans to increase staffing levels and to ensure adequate funding for same in view of the clear connection between staff shortages and significant crises across the public sector in areas such as housing, health and, in particular, mental health; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40480/17]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Procurement Regulations (26 Sep 2017)

Richard Boyd Barrett: 51. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he given consideration to substantial penalties for companies in receipt of public contracts that do not meet minimum standards of proper wages and conditions for their employees or that are found to be fraudulent and or non-compliant with the law in areas such as tax, health and safety and building regulations; and if he will make...