Results 361-380 of 23,053 for speaker:Paddy Burke

Seanad: Business and Covid-19: Statements (30 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Tánaiste to the House and wish him well with his portfolio. He holds a very important brief at this time. He told us: Around this time next month, we will publish the national economic recovery plan. It will present our vision for what the post recovery economy will look like, and how we plan to support businesses and employees in the months ahead. I believe he is...

Seanad: Post Office Network: Motion (26 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I welcome this opportunity to say a few words on post offices and not for the first time. We have had quite a number of debates on post offices and post office closures over the years. I compliment Senator Dooley on tabling the motion, which is very important, as Senator Chambers has said. This issue needs quite a lot of debate because many...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome back to the House my colleagues, Senators Horkan and Maria Byrne, and congratulate them on their re-election. I commiserate with the people who put their names forward and were not successful, including two former Members. Will the Deputy Leader ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to come back to the House? We had a great debate some weeks ago...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Rural Development Strategy: Engagement with Minister for Rural and Community Development (20 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister. The plan is finally coming in and it is great that money is being distributed to rural Ireland. I am a big advocate of the one-stop shop. It is very important that people know where to go to get information and how to go about presenting plans. The Minister said she allocated €70 million in recent days and the figure was increased to more than €80...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Rural Development Strategy: Engagement with Minister for Rural and Community Development (20 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: It concerned grants for retail businesses in rural towns and villages to establish themselves online and complement their physical footfall.

Seanad: Water Quality: Motion (19 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I wish to share my time with Senator Kyne.

Seanad: Water Quality: Motion (19 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: Yes.

Seanad: Water Quality: Motion (19 Apr 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the House. I thank the Green Party for bringing forward this important motion today. I grew up in an area where water was very scarce, and we spent our summers filling water for cattle and digging wells. Then we had the advent of the group water schemes and they played a very important role throughout the length and breadth of the country....

Seanad: Covid-19 Vaccination Programme: Statements (29 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well with his portfolio. I sympathise with him on having the most difficult job in this country at this point in time, with everybody watching what he is doing. It will be very difficult, in the two minutes I have, to say a great deal on this matter. I will not go back over the issues raised by the many other Senators but I welcome the return...

Seanad: Matters Arising from the Withdrawal of the UK from the EU: Statements (29 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his job. He has had very difficult work to do over the last number of years and when dealing with Brexit over the last four years. I certainly never thought there would be a pandemic thrown in on top as well. The Minister is to be congratulated. I also join with him in congratulating the Revenue Commissioners, the shipping companies...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Social Protection: Roadmap to Social Inclusion: Discussion (23 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive and detailed report. I welcome him and his staff to the meeting. I welcome the report and the roadmap. It is a great document. It is great that there is a minimum commitment and that it is extensive, with both food and clothes being given rather than just funding. I also welcome the fact that the Minister of State is chairing the group....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I want to raise again the issue of the local print media and the difficulties it has because of its declining revenue from advertising. We all know how valuable the local print media is but it is getting no assistance. While there was some reduction in VAT, it needs assistance at this point. I have no problem in saying that it should have the same assistance as the local radio station...

Seanad: Covid-19 (Tourism): Statements (22 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: It is my first time on this side of the House. I welcome the Minister and take this opportunity to wish her well in her portfolio. I have no doubt that she will make many changes and will do an excellent job for the whole industry. I am sorry I missed Senator Casey's contribution because nobody in the House knows better than him what it will be like to start up a business again after being...

Seanad: National Development Plan: Statements (22 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister. This is the first time that I think I have got an opportunity to congratulate him and wish him well in his role. I served with him for approximately four years on the Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach. I know only too well how good an operator he is and I have no doubt that he will be an excellent Minister for Public...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (12 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the opportunity to say a few words on the Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020. It is a very important piece of legislation. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish him well with the new Bill and with the extra portfolio he will get for the next couple of months. Before I start, I wish to be associated with a proposal that was made by Senator McGahon earlier...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (12 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Bill, particularly section 14(c), which removes the requirement that an insolvent debtor is only eligible under the Act to apply for the insolvency court review if his or her home mortgage was already in arrears before 1 January 2015.The amendment removes that from the Bill, which is very welcome. I will not go over what other Members of the House have said. However, I agree...

Seanad: Private Rental Sector: Motion (8 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I am delighted to have this opportunity to say a few words on housing, which is the most important issue in the country at present. I do not envy the Minister of State or the Minister. Many things have been tried over the past ten years but the housing crisis seems to get worse and worse.When he served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage...

Seanad: Local Government (Use of CCTV in Prosecution of Offences) Bill 2021: Second Stage (5 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. We see a lot of him here and I thank him for coming in to discuss this very important Bill from Senator Wall. I compliment the Senator on bringing forward this Private Members' Bill. It is very important and is coming forward at a very apt time. We can see now more than ever the illegal dumping of stuff because of the amount of walking...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I ask the Leader to arrange for a debate on the hospitality sector.This sector is a major employer and it is on its knees. It is big employer of students and part-time workers, a group of people who will not get or who do not want to work on a full-time basis. It is a great source of income for those people and for students going back to college year after year. The reason we need a debate...

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Paddy Burke: I welcome the Minister to the House. It is hard to get everything into two and a half minutes. The Minister has a hard task and I have great sympathy for him. Like Senator Chambers, I also think this should be a justice Bill but, as the Minister has control of health, I presume that is why he is dealing with this legislation. Like Senator Ward, I have questions to ask in regard to section...