Results 141-160 of 487 for at speaker:Pat Casey

Seanad: Credit Union Restructuring Board (Dissolution) Bill 2019: Second Stage (24 Nov 2020)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. We have seen him a lot lately and perhaps we will be seeing much more of him in the future. As he will know, we will be supporting this Bill, which has been brought forward by the Government to dissolve the Credit Union Restructuring Board, or ReBo as it has been deemed, because it has fulfilled its purpose. ReBo was established on a...

Seanad: Finance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020: Second Stage (24 Nov 2020)

Pat Casey: I again thank the Minister of State. We will be supporting the Bill which makes amendments to existing legislation, including urgently required changes relating to credit union general meetings to enable them to go ahead during the current pandemic. It also changes the terms of the membership of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to strengthen continuity and widen eligibility. The Bill also...

Seanad: Gnó an tSeanaid - Business of Seanad (22 Oct 2020)

Pat Casey: I have notice from Senator Aisling Dolan that, on the motion for the Commencement of the House today, she proposes to raise the following matter: The need for the Minister for Health to make a statement on funding commitments for Portiuncula University Hospital, Ballinasloe, County Galway. I have also received notice from Senator Victor Boyhan of the following matter: The need for the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Engagement with Governor of the Central Bank (21 Oct 2020)

Pat Casey: I thank the Chairman for allowing me time to speak. I was listening to the discussion from my office. I must start with the payment breaks, but I am approaching that issue from the business rather than the personal side. Every business that is affected by it has a multiplier effect on mortgages throughout the State. My colleague, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, mentioned that the Taoiseach has...

Seanad: Budget 2021: Statements (14 Oct 2020)

Pat Casey: I warmly welcome the Minister. Yesterday, we saw the introduction of the largest budget in the history of the State. It is designed to take us through the greatest challenges faced by the people of Ireland since the formation of the State. Each of these challenges is massive but together they present a clear and present danger to the health and well-being of every man, woman and child in...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Oct 2020)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State to the House, although I am disappointed it is not the Minister for Tourism. If I had a planning matter, I would be delighted to see the Minister of State here, but that is not the case today. This Commencement matter relates to the equality of treatment for the hospitality sector. I call on the Minister of State to set out the evidence that clearly shows...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Oct 2020)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister of State for his response. My comments are not directed at him. The response refers to level 3 so it does not even admit that the sector is at level 5. That is where we are. It would be something for the Government to acknowledge that in reality the hospitality sector is at level 5. Being asked to survive with 15 customers outside and for people to stay in a hotel in...

Seanad: Leaving Certificate 2020: Statements (8 Oct 2020)

Pat Casey: I thank the Minister for the leadership, calmness and empathy she has shown to students, teachers and everybody in the education system at a time when everybody was running around like headless chickens looking for media attention. I also thank her for the respect she has shown the House by always making herself available.

Seanad: National Screening Advisory Committee Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Sep 2020)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister to the Chamber and thank Senators Norris, Boyhan and Craughwell for highlighting this campaign again, as that is required to keep it to the fore and in our minds. It is an incredible piece of legislation that is required and I welcome it. Coming from Wicklow, I met Les and his family on a number of occasions. The Senator has set out their position. As Les says, this...

Seanad: Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2020)

Pat Casey: ...of a planning process.This point in the engagement is not the first time the appellant has engaged with the process. He or she is well aware of the process and will have made the original observation with regard to the file. For that reason, I think 28 days is an adequate provision. I wish to make two other points about the wait for the portal to be ready. I have had many discussions at...

Seanad: Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2020)

Pat Casey: Perhaps I misspoke at the time. The Government brought in legislation that allowed the planning system to extend it by three months. I did not mean to say that this legislation gave the Minister of State this power. There was emergency legislation, however, and part of that legislation took the planning Act into account. It also took into account that individuals were not in a position to...

Seanad: Forestry (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Sep 2020)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State. I come from County Wicklow, which has been at the heart of forestry.It has been a huge and integral part of our economy, but more than that, generations of families have earned their living from forestry for decades. This legislation cannot come quickly enough. The forestry industry is in crisis. The Minister of State was in Shillelagh last week, in the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (18 Sep 2020)

Pat Casey: That could have been avoided if previous Governments had addressed the two fundamental issues of the revaluation process and the fact that the property tax was not paid on new homes that were built, thus increasing the burden on the owners of existing properties.I accept that dealing with this issue is now in the programme for Government, but regretfully, legislation is required to deal with...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jul 2020)

Pat Casey: I ask the Leader to request that the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government come before us in September. That request has been made by a number of other Senators in order to discuss social and affordable housing and the homeless crisis. The issue I wish to raise comprises two interconnected aspects.One of these relates to the county development plan process, which every county...

Seanad: Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020: Second Stage (30 Jul 2020)

Pat Casey: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I was wondering how I would address this Bill so I will speak from my personal experience as somebody who is in business and currently going through this process. The tourism sector has faced many challenges over a number of decades. The big one we all remember was in 1969 when the Troubles in the North started. They had a seismic impact on...

Seanad: Financial Provisions (Covid-19) (No. 2) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (30 Jul 2020)

Pat Casey: As an employer in one of the sectors that has been referred to, I can understand the sentiment being expressed. However, we are in a crisis and we need to respond to that crisis very quickly. Trying to enter into collective bargaining before one would qualify for the wage subsidy scheme could put businesses at risk. It is not by our choice that people in my industry offer part-time and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Jul 2020)

Pat Casey: I thank the Cathaoirleach. My issue is directed towards the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment and relates to the Protecting Uplands and Rural Environments, PURE, project in County Wicklow. It is nice to see the Acting Leader here today because he would be aware of this project in Wicklow. The PURE project, which seeks to protect the uplands and the rural...

Seanad: Credit Guarantee (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (23 Jul 2020)

Pat Casey: I thank Senator Crowe for sharing his time and wish him the best of luck. He opened his doors last night for the fist time in four months, and I opened mine about a month ago. We are living examples. We are both living through this so we have a full understanding of the huge benefit this credit guarantee scheme can bring. I welcome it. It is the largest guarantee scheme in the history of...

Seanad: Financial Provisions (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (16 Jul 2020)

Pat Casey: I congratulate my colleague, Deputy Fleming, on his appointment as Minister of State with responsibility for financial services, credit unions and insurance. His background in accountancy, chairmanship of the Committee of Public Accounts and experience as spokesman on public expenditure and reform before that mean he is ideally placed to deal with the issues ahead of us. One of the key...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Jul 2020)

Pat Casey: ...clear to me since we reopened our doors a week ago. When we think of the tourism industry, sometimes we just think of hotels, pubs and restaurants but the industry has a much wider impact than that on society. I refer to the transport sector. We have airports, ferry ports and taxis while limousine hire will probably not do any business for the next year and a half because there will be...