Results 1-20 of 761 for at speaker:Malcolm Byrne

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: The Acting Leader may be aware that, at the weekend, the open finals of the RTÉ All Ireland Drama Festival took place in Athlone. The overall winner was Ballyduff Drama Group from County Waterford, directed by Ger Canning. It had a superb production of The Ferryman by Jez Butterworth. I had the privilege of seeing it when it was in Gorey as part of the festival circuit. Dalkey...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: School Transport (14 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, for attending to deal with this issue on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley. He will be very aware that the Minister initiated the first large-scale review of the school transport scheme since it was established in 1967 and that the report on the review, School Transport 2030, was published on 27 February. It is very...

Seanad: Gambling Regulation Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to deal with this legislation and I praise him for how personally invested he has been. It is a very significant piece of work, and I thank him for engaging. The number of contributions here reflects the very legitimate concerns in this House but also among the wider community. This has taken a long time to come into being. As the...

Seanad: Europe Day: Statements (9 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I congratulate the Minister of State, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, on her appointment and wish her the best in the role. She has shown herself to be very capable and I am certain she will represent us very effectively at discussions in Brussels and other European capitals. I also welcome her officials. The Minister of State is very fortunate in having some excellent officials in the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cybersecurity Policy (8 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Like others, I welcome the Minister of State to the House and wish him the best in his new role. I know he will put his heart and soul into it. The issue I raise is the HSE cyberattack. Next week is the third anniversary of the detonation of the Conti ransomware, which caused widespread disruption in the health service at the height of the pandemic. This was the result of a malware...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cybersecurity Policy (8 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for the response but I am afraid it does not tell us a lot more than we already knew from the reply I received this time last year. I am worried that issues like the elimination of the Windows 7 estate are still appearing as part of the process. There is a lot of emphasis placed on the leadership of a chief information security officer within the HSE but if one...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Unfortunately, I was not here on Thursday but I join colleagues in expressing sympathy to the family of the late Michael D'Arcy Sr. I had the privilege of serving with him on the former Gorey town council. In fact, he was the last chair before town councils were abolished. Michael had a passion for his community and politics. You could disagree with him at a meeting but once the meeting...

Seanad: Research and Innovation Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Tomorrow at 9.30 a.m.

Seanad: Loneliness: Motion (1 May 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Like others, I welcome the Minister of State and wish him well in his new role. I commend my Green Party colleagues on bringing forward this motion. When we think about loneliness, any of those who have ever gone canvassing or knocking on doors will have encountered the case of the door you knock on and the person who wants to keep talking to you. It is not that they are supporting the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Illegal Dumping (30 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State for taking this matter. I acknowledge that the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, has been providing a strong lead role, on behalf of the Government, in this area but I am concerned about how long it is taking to put the necessary measures in place to combat the problem of illegal dumping and littering. The Minister of State will be aware I introduced...

Seanad: Research and Innovation Bill 2024: Committee Stage (Resumed) (30 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Tomorrow at 10.30 a.m.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Office of Public Works (24 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I congratulate Deputy O’Donnell on his new role and I wish him the best of luck as the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW. He has always been willing to come before this House and I am appreciative that he has come in for this Commencement matter. I raise the issue of the Coast Guard station at Courtown. My own...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Office of Public Works (24 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Cuirim fáilte anseo roimh na scoláirí freisin. I thank the Minister of State for that response. There is nothing new in it bar the last paragraph, and we had heard rumours to that effect. While I appreciate it is at a commercially sensitive point, I ask the Minister of State for assurance that there will be a Plan B, should Plan A fall through on this site. I also ask that...

Seanad: Smartphone and Social Media Use: Motion [Private Members] (24 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I thank the Minister for being here for this very important debate. I thank the Fine Gael Senators for tabling it. The Minister will recall we had a lot of engagement privately, and in the Chamber, about the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, which established what is rapidly becoming perhaps the most important and powerful regulator in the State,...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Culture and Governance Issues at RTÉ: Discussion (24 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Today's meeting of the committee has been convened to consider governance and culture issues at RTÉ. We are meeting with the trade union groups to discuss those issues. The joint committee is empowered to consider the legislation, policy, governance, expenditure and administration of the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media or a State body for which that...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Culture and Governance Issues at RTÉ: Discussion (24 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: Mr. Dooley's voice is always welcome at this committee.

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Culture and Governance Issues at RTÉ: Discussion (24 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I know our witnesses have been here for quite a while and I thank for that. There can always be criticism of any organisation. On the policy side, I have always found the trade unions to be very generous with their time and information. To come back to the point made by Deputy Boyd Barrett, if ire is to be directed at those who originally signed up, then the bulk of that ire needs to be...

Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport And Media: Culture and Governance Issues at RTÉ: Discussion (24 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: ...O’Sullivan. He spoke about the past 12 months and how difficult they have been. Certainly, we express our solidarity with many of the workers in RTÉ. Can we be optimistic when we look at the end of this 12-month process and when we get through all the reports. I welcome that all the unions have indicated their support for a publicly funded model from the Exchequer. I am...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Rail Network (23 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I am raising an issue with which the Minister of State will be familiar, namely the Rosslare rail line and the continued failure by Irish Rail to invest in the service. I appreciate the Minister of State is taking this on behalf of the Minister for Transport. The Minister of State will know only too well that the Rosslare rail line has suffered from a long period of under investment. The...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Rail Network (23 Apr 2024)

Malcolm Byrne: I thank the Minister of State. I really am disappointed at the lack of ambition in the long-term development of the Rosslare rail line. There is no discussion here around a significant number of additional services going from Wicklow south. There is no discussion around new rolling stock being made available on the existing line. While it is a very beautiful train line - one of the most...