Results 41-60 of 904 for speaker:Ray Butler

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: They might come in and join us-----

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: I want to talk about the Department of Education and Skills and thank the new Minister for his quick response in providing measures to deal with the school buildings that have structural failures. I refer to the issue of leaving schools vacant when the school moves to another location. There are former school sites in four areas in my constituency, namely, Trim, Athboy, Kildalkey and Kells....

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (23 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: I have been involved in the greyhound industry all my life and have been an owner and a breeder for the past 25 or 26 years. The amendment which proposes to have representatives of greyhound owners and breeders on the board is all over the place.

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (23 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: It is all over the place. Nobody seems to know what is going on or who is chair of this or that group.There are different organisations and groups, and there is bickering and fighting going on. It is all over the place. Therefore, we cannot approve this. The industry and many of the associations inside the greyhound industry have to take a look at themselves. I saw people being nominated...

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (23 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: I thank the Senator.

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Committee Stage (23 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: We all have no problem with dogs in other jurisdictions being banned from racing if they have been found to have drugs in their system. A dog would not be allowed to run in Manchester one week and run the following week in Ireland because the dog would have to undertake a clearance trial. A dog, bar it was an open class dog, would be banned automatically. Dogs are banned for other reasons....

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Second Stage (17 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: I welcome the Minister of State and I welcome this long-overdue Bill. I have been involved in the breeding of greyhounds and the greyhound industry all of my life. It is the best breeding industry we have in this country, and Irish greyhounds are raced all over the world. Between full-time and part-time trainers in the greyhound industry, approximately 10,000 to 10,500 people are involved...

Seanad: Greyhound Racing Bill 2018: Second Stage (17 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: I welcome the Bill. I have much more to say but I will finish by saying that breeding rates are down all over the country and we need a new scheme for breeding. We had a scheme in the 1990s that worked well, where if one kept a brood bitch and raced her for ten races, one received IR£150, while if one kept her for another ten races, one received IR£300. If that bitch produced a...

Seanad: Budget 2019: Statements (9 Oct 2018)

Ray Butler: I welcome the Minister of State. We will end discussion on budget 2019 on a happy note. Seven and a half years ago I came into this building as a self-employed person. I had seen what the crash had done in 2010 and 2011. While out canvassing, I had met many self-employed whose businesses had gone during the crash. I remember one particular time in Kildalkey in County Meath. I was...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Discussion: Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (25 Sep 2018)

Ray Butler: I thank the Minister for coming before the committee today. I welcome the news that the Christmas bonus will be paid this year. It is a huge boost for local businesses and very good news for people living in rural Ireland. Naturally, I will start the ball rolling by raising the issue of the discrimination of self-employed people in terms of social protection over the years. Four hundred...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Pre-Budget Discussion: Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection (25 Sep 2018)

Ray Butler: I thank the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2018)

Ray Butler: I would like to offer my sympathies to the families of Jack Kenneally and Shay Moloney, who were drowned in a disused quarry on the outskirts of Ennis. I spoke about this issue many months ago given many quarry owners went bust during the recession and just walked away. In my constituency, there are several quarries like this and there are others all over the country. The bonds that...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (9 Jul 2018)

Ray Butler: Senator Norris got it from a friend.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2018)

Ray Butler: I wish to raise the issue of convicted sex offenders travelling from Britain to start new lives in Ireland. In my area, two sex offenders were caught in Trim and Athboy, County Meath. Last week, a man was discovered to be waiting for two 14-year old girls that he had groomed online to arrive by bus from Dublin. Thankfully, it was a sting operation and he was caught.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2018)

Ray Butler: The man was caught by a group of citizens.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2018)

Ray Butler: Yes.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Jul 2018)

Ray Butler: One can listen online to a recording of what he had posted online. His postings were sick beyond belief. Why does the State not prevent such convicted monsters from entering this country and starting new lives here? They should be deported back to where they came from. We need to introduce an Australian style policy to deal with convicted sex offenders. I have seen the devastation...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Jun 2018)

Ray Butler: I will also outline my sentiments regarding the actions of the USA in respect of the American-Mexican border. To hear the recording of small children crying and looking for their parents was horrific. I would like the House to write to the American Embassy and say this is not good enough and that we will not accept it. It was horrendous to hear the recording on ITV last night of little...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 May 2018)

Ray Butler: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (22 May 2018)

Ray Butler: I also add my sympathies to the families of Jastine Valdez and Ana Kriegel. It is very sad to see a young girl going about her everyday business and to end up dying in such a brutal way. I wish to speak today about vacant properties in town centres in rural areas. I would like to see tax reliefs such as we had during the Celtic tiger in order that people can do up their premises within a...