Results 1,621-1,640 of 9,950 for speaker:Thomas Byrne

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Foreign Birth Registration (2 Nov 2021)

Thomas Byrne: I gave the Senator a stroke on the ballot paper in his first election.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Foreign Birth Registration (2 Nov 2021)

Thomas Byrne: Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Seanadóir Ó Creachmhaoil. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is in Israel today and has asked me to speak on his behalf. The Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for citizenship by descent through the foreign birth register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004. As the Senator will be aware, people may apply for Irish...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Foreign Birth Registration (2 Nov 2021)

Thomas Byrne: I will certainly discuss this matter with the Minister and officials in the Department. It is one that comes across my desk from time to time. The passport service is working very closely with the human resources division in the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Public Appointments Service, on an ongoing basis to get more staff in. That is the bottom line for the entire system of...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Farm Costs (2 Nov 2021)

Thomas Byrne: I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. Notwithstanding what he said about farmers taking the hit, which they often do, there is no doubt that this would have a knock-on effect on food prices and is of general concern around the country. I come from a fertile county and this is no less an issue in Meath than it is in Tipperary, and I am concerned about it as well. There are...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Farm Costs (2 Nov 2021)

Thomas Byrne: I appreciate the Senator raising this issue. We hope that for fertiliser prices, as we hope for a range of commodity prices, there will be a levelling off of some of the contributing price factors next year. Huge challenges still remain. The initiatives the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has outlined will support farmers in reducing their overall dependence on fertiliser...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: -----existing side-by-side in peace and security. That view reflects the mainstream of global opinion.

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: It is the mainstream of European left-wing opinion too. Some left-wing politicians in this House are completely out of the mainstream. We have to be constantly on our guard about anti-Semitism. It is so dangerous. Issues are being raised at a global level about comments made in this House about Israel.

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: Mixing the issue of anti-Semitism with day-to-day politics is dangerous.

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: This is something that we must be clear and have a full stop on. We have a proud record in this country of our dealings as an honest broker in the Israel-Palestine situation in support of a peaceful solution that protects all of the people of that region.

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: The European Council will take stock of preparations for the November Asia-Europe summit, the Eastern Partnership summit, the upcoming United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP26, in Glasgow and the UN Biodiversity Conference, COP15. The European Council will discuss preparations for the 13th Asia-Europe Meeting, ASEM, on 25 and 26 November. This biannual summit will bring together...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: He did.

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: I thank Deputies for their statements. The agenda for this week's meeting of the European Council was discussed yesterday in Luxemburg at the General Affairs Council, GAC, which I attended. The Taoiseach has outlined his expectations for the European Council's discussions, as Members have also reflected, on Covid-19, digital, energy prices, trade and migration. Deputies should make no...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: Yes. However, the issue of anti-Semitism is very serious at the moment. We must remember the Holocaust, learn lessons from it and have it constantly in our memories and on our minds. We must constantly be on guard so that nothing like it can ever happen again. We cannot mix anti-Semitism into a discussion about the situation on the ground in Israel and Palestine. Ireland has been a...

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: I was on "Six-One" yesterday saying that. I made that exact point.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: European Union Issues: Discussion (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach agus le baill an choiste uilig as an gcuireadh seo theacht os a gcomhair. Ar dtús, rachaidh mé i ngleic le prótacal Thuaisceart Éireann. First, I will update the committee on the Northern Ireland protocol. Last week, the European Commission delivered on its promise to people and businesses in Northern Ireland to address their...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: European Union Issues: Discussion (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: Members have raised interesting questions that cut across a number of issues. Senator Chambers asked specifically about the next steps with respect to the protocol. As we speak, the UK team is in Brussels discussing with its counterparts at a technical level. I understand the discussion is focusing on the EU papers - the documents published last week. David Frost and Maros Šefovi...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: European Union Issues: Discussion (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: Present themselves - I think the Irish media would be fascinated to hear from them as opposed to just politicians all the time so I think that would also help. I would certainly encourage that. I ask anybody who would be interested - and I do not know their identities - to please speak out and say whether he or she thinks it is a good or bad process and what he or she thinks of the issues...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: European Union Issues: Discussion (20 Oct 2021)

Thomas Byrne: On the rule of law conditionality, this is the sequence. The recovery and resilience fund was agreed last year as part of the budget negotiations, an unprecedented financial boost from the European Union to try to boost the economies of the entire European Union. We need to get away from - and I do not accuse this committee of this - sometimes speaking in terms of "how much is Ireland...