Results 161-180 of 945 for speaker:Aidan Davitt

Seanad: Regulation of Providers of Building Works and Building Control (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (30 Mar 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I am delighted to welcome my constituency colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, to the House today. We all know he is no stranger to the House and is here on a regular basis. It can be hard to get anybody else from the Department here and he might look for a bit of a dig out. It would be remiss of me not to mention Dr. Dermot Fitzpatrick today. Senator Mary Fitzpatrick has...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (23 Mar 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I am certainly not going to delay the progress of the Bill on Second Stage. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and congratulate her on all the great work she is doing in her Department. She has certainly shaken things up. She has a fresh approach to working in the Department. This is proof of it. There has been talk for quite a long time about trying to consolidate all the...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Second Stage (23 Mar 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I am not being dismissive, but how relevant is this?

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (24 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I have a couple of queries about the proposed legislation. Given that legislation on the regulation of gambling is coming from the office of the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, in the Department of Justice, as I said the last day to my colleague, I think this issue needs to be teased out with the regulator. We would be putting the cart before the horse otherwise. We hope to have a...

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (24 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: It is the bookmakers the Senators are trying to stop, though. Senator Carrigy is referring to the point I made.

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (24 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: It is a monopoly.

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (24 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I wish to make one brief point. I am certainly anything but a spokesperson for gambling. I have been very anti-gambling. I am not in favour of gambling on mobile phones and other devices. It goes back to the example of the guy who wants to make a small bet and cannot afford the €6 to do the lottery on a Saturday evening. A point that seems to be glossed over is the fact that but...

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (24 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: What is the minimum bet?

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (24 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: Senator Ward made some good points and I agree with much of what he said. Something that struck me, and it was in the newspapers quite recently, is that €90 million of unclaimed lottery moneys was reinvested in advertising over the past six years. This is a frightening figure. All this money could be going back into sports facilities and everything else. You are knocked down with...

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (24 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: Yes but all the talk is about all the money being invested in the clubs and so on, but there is nothing about the €90 million being spent on advertising. That is the reality of it. It is not a matter of this money going into Irish sports clubs. A wall of money is being spent on advertising and promoting the lottery. That is the point I would like to make. It is a monopoly, so it...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Schemes (22 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I just met the Minister of State outside the Chamber. It is a benefit of arriving early, which does not happen too often. I had a good conversation with him and he was very informative and helpful in providing information regarding this Commencement matter. He has probably alleviated most of my concerns or at least answered many of them. A massive scheme was announced last week. The...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Schemes (22 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: The Minister of State has given me a personalised answer already, in fairness to him.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Schemes (22 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I thank the Minister of State. The rising cost of electricity is probably the biggest concern, especially with some of the retrofit innovation. Heat pumps are probably our largest concern. They are so tied to the ESB. This is particularly the case when we cannot feed power back onto the grid. We are doing so in a very minimal way at present. That is really an issue. The sooner that...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Environmental Schemes (22 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: The Minister of State pointed out something to me outside the Chamber that I had not realised from listening to the media which is that this can be done bit by bit. That can be done without doing other parts of the retrofit. That is very good.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I am delighted to welcome the Minister of State. He is a hard-working Minister and well known to this House. I have discussed this with the Minister of State already and am delighted he agreed to come to the House to flesh out the figures and the details. There has been a concern that there are not enough places in some of the courses at present, or qualified staff to teach these...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Apprenticeship Programmes (1 Feb 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive answer. Undoubtedly, he will work on this as hard as he can to try to speed matters up. I appreciate that.

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jan 2022)

Aidan Davitt: I agree with Senator Mullen on his final point about wastewater. I concur with his statement on the infrastructure being provided by the Government to upgrade the water system. Long may it continue. I raise the issue of training centres and apprentices schemes through training centres. I believe there is a backlog in quite a number of these schemes due to the non-availability or a...

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Dec 2021)

Aidan Davitt: I welcomed the Minister of State on the way up the stairs here and to the Upper House earlier on today.

Seanad: Appropriation Bill 2021: Second Stage (16 Dec 2021)

Aidan Davitt: He is. I re-emphasise what the Minister of State has stated which is the importance of the Bill and its passing with as much speed as possible. We have discussed it at length and there has been quite vigorous conversation and debate here on it on previous occasions. I and my party, Fianna Fáil, are fully behind it and we wish its swift passing through the House today, if possible.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (8 Dec 2021)

Aidan Davitt: I welcome the Minister to the House. It is a great pleasure to have him here. I thank Senator Wilson who started on my behalf. I was slightly delayed on the way in. As the Minister is aware, every three years this legislation has to come to the House to be passed. Without it, these Houses could not function. That is the primary reason this Bill is here today. I hear what some of our...