Results 1,701-1,720 of 4,026 for speaker:

Horse and Greyhound Racing Fund Regulations 2022: Motion (Resumed) (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: — while it is acknowledged that the horse and greyhound racing sectors do not qualify for sports capital funding, they are unique in Irish sport in that they are supported by the State through their own ring-fenced statutory fund; — payments...

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: What?

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: What is the next slot?

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: I will resume my seat. I had not planned to talk for long on this. I will just end up going around the houses.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: When will that be?

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: I probably will not take the 12 minutes but I want to make sure the debate will continue if the following speaker is not here.

Health Insurance (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. We have the same debate annually in which we amend the Health Insurance Act to modify the regulations governing the private health insurance sector. The whole goal of health policy at this time is the delivery of Sláintecare, that is, the delivery of a universal, single-tier healthcare system, with access for all and service free at the point of use....

Drugs Policy: Motion [Private Members] (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: In politics, when the answer is more gardaí, sometimes it does not matter what the question is. It has been an evergreen answer for politicians over the years. Sometimes it is the right answer. With organised crime, murder, public order, cybercrime, and burglaries then yes, we need to resource the Garda. In the case of a drugs policy and tackling people with problematic addiction,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: I thank Mr. O’Leary for appearing before the committee today. I wish to continue the discussion on the tunnel at Dublin Airport. The DAA would pride itself as being quite profitable, professional, forward-thinking, well planned and all the rest of it. Mr. O’Leary is saying that the DAA is wasting €200 million on this. The DAA is saying that there is a safety element...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: I represent the Dublin Fingal constituency and I was a county councillor in Swords, so I have been receiving the DAA’s literature through the door for years. It would seem to me to be a very growth-oriented organisation. It would only be chomping at the bit to add another pier or terminal to improve capacity. Why is it not doing this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: My apologies, but surely the DAA would value profitability over increased charges. Mr. O’Leary is laying out, as he has done continually for many years, growth plans for Dublin Airport if he was given the scope to do so.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: Surely the DAA would say that it was better off to take a particular course of action because ultimately, its bottom line would improve and it would be able to reinvest, etc. Mr. O’Leary’s view on this just does not add up as to why-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: Surely those architects could just as easily be served building another pier.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: My point is that the DAA appears before our committee regularly enough and will say that it operates in the marketplace, in the private sector, and must turn a profit. Dalton Philips would have a very private sector kind of view to my mind, at least. For me, it does not add up that it would not want to. Is the friction that continues to exist between the DAA and Ryanair resolvable? Surely...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: The tension is quite public all the time and maybe the kissing and making up is in private.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: They should not be mutually exclusive. I want to see the airport thrive because I want to see workers with well-paid jobs in the airport being able to live locally as they have done and to continue to grow towns such as Swords, as has been the case over the years. That is where I am coming from. Mr. O'Leary's opening statement referred to the move to lower-cost airports. We had an issue...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: There has to be a balance there. There cannot just be a shed that we process people through.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: Those are the basics that I am talking about. I am not talking about the Toblerones. I am talking about the basics.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: Absolutely, yes. It is has been five years since Ryanair has recognised trade unions and has been engaging with them. How has that impacted on the culture of the organisation from Ryanair's perspective? Could it and should it have done so earlier?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport: National Aviation Policy: Ryanair (30 Nov 2022)

Duncan Smith: I thank Mr. O'Leary. I have loads more but I have run out of time.