Results 17,101-17,120 of 27,275 for speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Yes, if what one is trying to do is to make a profit. If what one is trying to do is to provide housing, one might have a different approach.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I am not pointing the finger at NAMA. I understand the straitjacket that it is in, but I have always disagreed with that straitjacket.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: We are paying a disastrous price for it, given the failure to build housing for a number of years. I want to quiz Mr. McDonagh on another matter. It seems an obvious statement of fact that the mandate that has informed NAMA's activities has failed us, in that it has exacerbated the cycle.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I am running out of time. I take Mr. Daly's point, but the idea that NAMA has tracked the market, which is its mandate, is crazy and we are paying the price for it. I must be honest and say that. On the delivery of social housing, out of the 70,000 - now 52,000 - existing or potential units, the total that we can expect for social housing from NAMA is 2,000. Is that not a pathetic return?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: That is correct, and we did not get any social housing then either.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I agree and I accept that point. However, 2,000 out of 70,000 is a pathetic return in terms of social housing.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: My next point follows from this point. I find Mr. McDonagh's concern for NAMA debtors and the possible feelings of discrimination or victimhood they might have a little nauseating. I did not think it was NAMA's job or the job of any public agency to worry about these debtors and developers who bankrupted the country. The idea should be to increase the provision of social housing.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Operations and Functioning of NAMA: Discussion (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: There was a mandate to deliver social housing as well.
- Pre-European Council: Statements (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Much of the agenda of the European Council was dominated by the response to the events in Paris, the so-called war on terrorism and the prevention of radicalisation. The very first thing the Taoiseach should say within the European Council is that all of the problems in Syria and the refugee crisis, much of which stems from what is happening in Syria, will be made worse by the actions of the...
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I echo Deputy Mac Lochlainn in saying it is disappointing that this Bill is not only being rushed but it is not accompanied by other measures long wished for by asylum seekers and those who support them, chief of which are the granting of the right to work and the ending of the shame and scandal that is the direct provision system. As when dealing with other legislation, despite the...
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: The Minister of State can express all the noble aspirations he wishes but, at the beginning of the Bill we find an example of how this legislative process is fundamentally flawed. We are on amendment No. 3 and the Minister of State looks a bit lost as to the point being made and is having to consult civil servants for explanations. Prompted by the Irish Refugee Council, we are pointing out...
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I am reading section 73 and it amplifies further our concerns. Section 73 deals with "Contracts for Services". It provides, "The Minister may enter into contracts for services with such and so many persons as he or she considers necessary to assist him or her in the performance of his or her functions under this Act".
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: It is a recipe for outsourcing if ever I heard one.
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Absolutely. It does not mention public servants anywhere. I do not know what the Minister of State is talking about.
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: What page?
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: What?
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Are we looking at the Bill as passed by the Seanad?
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: Section 73 is on page 75.
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I have the briefing notes I received from the Irish Refugee Council. The Minister of State has not responded directly to its concern that trained and qualified civil servants are to be replaced by externally recruited personnel who may not receive adequate training. The council also raises concern about the powers of the Minister to revoke authorisations for international protection...
- International Protection Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2015)
Richard Boyd Barrett: I am dizzy because of the substituting of new amendments. Will the Minister of State explain this amendment?