Results 121-140 of 206 for long speaker:Malcolm Byrne

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...Biden's White House has announced it will engage with a diplomatic boycott in line with many other Governments to show their opposition to the human rights abuses of the Chinese Communist Party. How long more do we have to wait before the Department of Foreign Affairs finally makes up its mind? I compliment RTÉ on the series "The Case I Can't Forget". Last night it showed the Don...

Seanad: Maritime Area Planning Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: I congratulate the Minister, his officials and the Oireachtas joint committee on all the work that has been done. The legislation is long awaited. It is really important for our coastal communities. It is important for the protection and achieving the potential of our oceans and seas and for the roll-out of wind energy. It is particularly important, as Senator Casey and I have raised with...

Seanad: Maternity-Paternity Leave for County and City Councillors: Motion (7 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: .... It is completely unfair, not just on elected Members but also on the staff, that the Houses of the Oireachtas sit late into the night, by which I mean after 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.. In addition, after a long day's work, people are cranky and not necessarily as focused. We, therefore, need to reconsider seriously the sitting hours of these Houses. They are not conducive to good legislation...

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Education): Statements (2 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...of students first. I encourage her to continue to do that and to have that engagement. She is right in saying these students have lost many aspects of their rites of passage which will have long-term implications. We need to look for ways to support them. This does not just relate to exams, but also to other aspects of their lives. In the context of exams, I ask her to continue to...

Seanad: Human Rights in China: Motion (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ..., journalists, lawyers and academics. The Chinese Communist Party has decided to round them up simply because of their views. In the case of Tibet, a situation that has been running for a long number of year, and Ireland has always shown solidarity with Tibet, the Chinese Communist Party continues to engage in its re-education programme. It deprives Tibetans access to their own...

Seanad: Covid-19 and the New Measures (Health): Statements (1 Dec 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...see that we have not got everything right, but we have got a lot of things right. In particular, the vaccination programme has been a success. What the Minister outlined regarding some of the long-term measures, including the increase in ICU bed capacity, is important. The message needs to get out that we are increasing bed capacity. It is not enough as yet but, in as far as possible,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...Higher Education Association to try to ensure that exams can be done in the safest way possible. It is important for students that there is clarity as soon as possible. I also wish to mention two long-running disputes where it is important that we move towards a resolution. The first is the pension scheme for community employment supervisors and deputy supervisors. This has been kicked...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) (Large-scale Residential Development) Bill 2021: Second Stage (10 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...one further step as part of the raft of legislation. It is difficult to keep up with the amount of legislation the Minister has been introducing, but this is a very important step forward. Perhaps, in his response, he will indicate how long a developer, who is looking to develop an estate of, for instance, 100 houses, will expect to wait in normal circumstances, and all things being...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Nov 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...á sona dó. I welcome this afternoon's positive announcement by the Minister, Deputy Harris, on the designation of a technological university for the south east. This is something that our region has been seeking for a long time and it will be transformative for the region. When it opens on 1 May, it will become the fourth or fifth largest university by student number in the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Oct 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...it with the Minister. Yesterday was the 14th anniversary of the murder of Paul Quinn, who was beaten to death in County Monaghan by a provisional IRA gang. His parents, Breege and Stephen, have long sought justice for their son, an innocent man. The Garda have said that they now have fresh information. Could we, through this House, appeal that anybody with information about this savage...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Work Permits (12 Oct 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...non-EEA workers are able to come here to work, that that process be as smooth as possible and that the delays will be minimal. The problem, as the Minister of State knows, is that there are very long delays, even for trusted partners or IDA Ireland companies. My understanding is that, as of today, the Department is only now processing applications from trusted partners that were made on...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Oct 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ..., including the LGBT minority, and this is a crucial question about the values of the European Union. This House needs to send a message of solidarity to the Polish people. Polish people have a long history of rebelling and standing up against authoritarianism and authoritarian regimes. I ask that, on behalf of this House, the Cathaoirleach write to the Polish ambassador expressing our...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (6 Oct 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...not there to match it. Therefore, I am asking the following questions. Will we see the publication of the report quite soon? In the budget, or soon after, will we see a sustainable plan for the long-term funding of higher education? The Minister has also promised we will have a national strategy on research, which will be crucial for this country's long-term development. The current...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Further and Higher Education (6 Oct 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...in this sector, as the Minister of State himself outlined, that report needs to be published quickly. As for Ireland's very specific international offering, our economic strategy was based for a long time on tax and talent. We now know we will no longer base our arguments solely on tax, perhaps rightly so. This country will rely very heavily on its talent offering. As the Minister of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Sep 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...as an Irish citizen cannot do so. The Department of Foreign Affairs simply will not accept applications. I know of one instance in which somebody who has lived here almost his entire life, since not long after birth, has had an application in for two years and there has been no progress made on it. There are a number of others in a similar situation. I therefore ask the Deputy Leader...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Sep 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...it reopens. I want to raise the question of pensions. I am concerned by some of the very populist debate that is happening around pensions at the moment and that we are not thinking sufficiently long-term. Those who will sit their leaving certificate next year will probably not retire until the late 2060s or early 2070s. They will have a life expectancy of 90. They will live a lot...

Seanad: Housing For All - a New Housing Plan for Ireland: Statements (29 Sep 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...as possible for builders who need to employ international workers with specialisations to come into this country. The key issue about An Bord Pleanála is the decision-making process is taking too long. What most builders will tell one is it is not whether they get approval, it is the fact it takes far too long. We need to move to a situation whereby the board is giving quick...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Water Pollution (21 Sep 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...problem. Subsequently we discovered there was a case. While the systems failure was bad, the failure in communications was particularly appalling. The difficulty now for those of us who, for a long time, have defended agencies on the basis that we place our trust in professionals is that the trust is not there. What happened in Gorey could happen in any other part of the country. We...

Seanad: Report of Independent Review Group Jadotville: Statements (15 Jul 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...the veterans of Jadotville, and members of the Defence Forces and veterans more generally, that they feel passionately that this story should be told. This State tried to suppress that story for a long time. Credit should also be given to Mr. Ronan McGreevy of The Irish Times. He was one of a number of journalists who continued to raise and tell that story. All that anybody here ever...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Vaccination Programme (12 Jul 2021)

Malcolm Byrne: ...the time during the Covid-19 pandemic away from Ireland but have now received a non-EMA-approved vaccine. We need clarity regarding what is going to happen concerning this situation, depending on how long it may take for the EMA to recognise those other vaccines. I also raise this matter in the context of a concern regarding international students coming to Ireland in the autumn.It is a...