Results 41-60 of 562 for speaker:Larry Butler

Seanad: Small and Medium Enterprises: Motion (20 Oct 2010)

Larry Butler: Perhaps we could have two and a half minutes each. I ask the Acting Chairman to notify me when my time has expired.

Seanad: Small and Medium Enterprises: Motion (20 Oct 2010)

Larry Butler: I will be quick about this. It is not fair to say any Government, especially the present Government, is responsible for mishandling the economy when there was a complete collapse of the banking sector and the worldwide economy. A further bad situation resulted when the construction industry bubble burst. That made things much worse for this country. Therefore, the Government had no choice...

Seanad: Announcement on Banking by the Minister for Finance: Statements (20 Oct 2010)

Larry Butler: I agree with much of what Senator Twomey said. We must be more open and should set out the budget parameters well before the budget. These parameters should be discussed very openly in the Lower House and certainly teased out to a much greater extent in this House. This House now has a great opportunity to do so before the budget. I welcome the growing consensus that we must meet our 3%...

Seanad: National Economy: Statements (30 Sep 2010)

Larry Butler: We had truly bad figures this morning from the banking sector. We expected some of the figures to be bad but perhaps not as bad as they were. We seem to be getting to the bottom line in terms of the total cost of the banking collapse. The banking fraternity came to the Oireachtas a short time ago to tell us they did not want our money, that it was perfectly able to fund itself. Today is a...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (14 Jul 2010)

Larry Butler: I pay tribute to Joe Doyle. I was his vice chairman on the eastern regional health authority, ERHA. He was an outstanding chairman who did considerable work in delivering health services to the greater Dublin region. He was the consummate politician and achieved everything in the political scene. He was a councillor, lord mayor, Deputy and Senator who held various positions and chairs and...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 Jul 2010)

Larry Butler: I ask the Leader to consider having a debate in September on the interim report of the expert group on mortgage arrears and personal debt, chaired by Mr. Hugh Cooney, which was published during the week. Many issues raised by that report are highly welcome. One issue pertains to the great difficulties being experienced by borrowers who were being penalised with additional penalties. The...

Seanad: Central Bank Reform Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2010)

Larry Butler: It is outrageous to suggest that because someone is a member of any political party, he or she would not do the best for the country.

Seanad: Central Bank Reform Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2010)

Larry Butler: That is an outrageous attack on the political system. When we look at what the banks did, we can see they were members of their own club. There were no members of the political system in the banking system. They destroyed their own organisations. To suggest now some connection between that and someone who was appointed to the board of the Central Bank on the basis of being a member of any...

Seanad: Central Bank Reform Bill 2010: Second Stage (6 Jul 2010)

Larry Butler: I welcome the Minister and thank him for what he has done in recent years in his finance portfolio. I do not know of anybody who, on coming into office, has had to deal with so many things at the one time. He did us proud internationally and at home. It is important we say that and that we restore confidence in the banking sector. This Bill gives us confidence in that regard. It is...

Seanad: Central Bank Reform Bill 2010: Second Stage (6 Jul 2010)

Larry Butler: The Senator does not know either.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2010)

Larry Butler: I welcome the proposed 500 new jobs at Dublin Airport. The developments there will bring it into the 21st century in terms of its facilities for travellers and so forth. We have not taken much stock recently of how well the economy has been performing in the last quarter. Those proposed jobs will bring the total number of jobs for this quarter up to approximately 4,500, which will be the...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (22 Jun 2010)

Larry Butler: I express my sympathy to Sheila, Peter's wife, and the other members of his family. Peter was a wonderful friend and made many friends in the House. He brought great honour to his family and the local authorities on which he served for a long time. He also showed great enthusiasm for his native County Cork. Peter had the ideal job and regarded serving in the Seanad as an important means of...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 May 2010)

Larry Butler: Having watched last night's television programme, it is my view that the Health Service Executive is a discredited organisation. The Leader should immediately call the Minister for Health and Children to the House. In a democratic society in which €14.5 billion is allocated annually to the health service, it is not right that the HSE should remain unaccountable. This is a difficult...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 May 2010)

Larry Butler: The structure of the HSE must be examined because it is not working.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 May 2010)

Larry Butler: The HSE is not working and needs immediate attention. The Minister needs to take charge of it. Given that the Oireachtas is accountable for the money allocated to the executive, it is our job to ensure the cheque we issue is properly spent, which is not the case at present.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Second Stage (20 May 2010)

Larry Butler: I agree with much of Senator White's remarks. We must get involved in this debate and we must take charge of our destiny in that regard. I welcome the fact the European Union has come together in such a way to protect the euro and this should have been done or foreseen, probably when the euro was first envisaged. The need for a support structure and to have a mechanism in place to ensure...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2010)

Larry Butler: I congratulate the Minister for Finance for the Government's very successful issuing of bonds. Bonds amounting to €13.5 billion have been taken up very quickly, which I am delighted to see. Bonds amounting to approximately €6.5 billion are to be sold. It is good news for the country and we are getting reasonable rates when one considers the bail-out of Greece. We are only 0.2% up on...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2010)

Larry Butler: It is a step that should have been taken a long time ago. Senator Quinn seems to make a difference on the other side of the House. He must have been pleased by the announcement of the European Commission that co-operation between member states on organ transplantation is to be made mandatory.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 May 2010)

Larry Butler: The Minister of State gave the anwer, but the Senator was not in the Chamber.

Seanad: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Second Stage (19 May 2010)

Larry Butler: I will be brief. I support Senator Quinn's proposal. I myself made some proposals as to how we might make additions to the Bill. In my other life as a developer and contractor I have had the best possible relationships with sub-contractors. I was a sub-contractor myself at one time and, therefore, know the difficulties that can arise when contractors decide not to pay sub-contractors....