Results 621-640 of 4,085 for speaker:Dan Boyle

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: This is the reality. In making the difficult decisions that have had to be made, the Government has had to be conscious of the fact that to continue the level of public expenditure in which it was engaged would mean increased levels of borrowing, which would send signals to those from whom we are borrowing that due to the repayments on those borrowings and the increasing cost of interest we...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: If we are to save in terms of direct payments, the difficult decision is how such savings can be made. One could get into a league hierarchy as to whether people who are blind are more important than people with another disability or whether lone parents are more important than people who are unemployed. However, I do not wish to play that game.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: The reality is that we have so much to provide and we will provide it to the same extent that the payments that had been determined would be paid to those people. The real problem is not direct payments. In the context of welfare traps the real problem is in terms of secondary benefits. Let us focus on people in a certain category of social welfare. Individuals with an adult dependant and...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: That is why such decisions have to be made. It is easy to make cheap political points. In the past we have given out those kinds of signals. Senator Buttimer might be aware of the system that applied previously as we are of a generation that lived through the recession of the 1980s. At least then there was the option of getting onto a job scheme to allow oneself to put something on one's...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: I do not hear that.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: Additional psychologists have been provided for the national educational psychological service. If one wants to work one's way out of a recession, the ability to access education and reach one's potential is a key component for each citizen. It is the responsibility of Government to give that potential. The recent decisions are helping in that regard. Certain difficult decisions will be...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: A total of 25% of expenditure was on social welfare and that is increasing despite the controls we are introducing in the Bill. We are spending more on social welfare next year than we did in the previous year, despite reducing payments. A total of 30% of all Government expenditure goes on public sector wages. The two areas in which we have tried to control public expenditure in the budget...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: How we distribute that price is a measure of society; whether we distribute it across the board or proportionately is the challenge for the Government. The Bill is an honest attempt to do that. Appropriate balances will be made in the context of last year's budget and next year's budget. It will be a difficult time for the country but if we take the right decisions for the right reasons we...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: It a bit late for the Senator to call for someone's resignation after the Bill has gone through the other House. I will respond to some of the points made by previous speakers. This is difficult legislation. There is no joy or satisfaction for any Government in proposing a reduction in a number of categories of social welfare payments, but this is being done in the context of the state of...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: It is a privilege to welcome and to have introduced my friend and colleague, Niall Ó Brolcháin, to Seanad Éireann today. It is an historic day not only for Niall and his family but for the Green Party-Comhaontas Glas, which has increased representation in this Chamber from no representation prior to the 23rd Seanad. I am very confident and certain that Niall's contribution will further...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: Some believe they are entitled to better pension terms and conditions, which is part of the problem we have without having a debate. I am open to the House having such a debate because we have avoided the issue for too long. With regard to work commencing at the Poolbeg incinerator site, I look forward to Senator Bacik supporting the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: The difficulty with local government is we have more than 30 local authorities which operate as independent republics and do not pay attention to Government policy.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: I would like a debate on the issue raised by Senator Bacik because the commencement of building work has a presumptuousness about it that needs clarity.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: I am.

Seanad: Statute Law Revision Bill 2009: Second and Subsequent Stages (10 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: I will not detain the House long. This Bill, which is the third in a series of similar Bills to come to the House, is to be welcomed. The aim is to clean up our Statute Book and remove superfluous legislation. The introduction of the Bill is an important action for the Government to take and part of a valuable process. While detailed in its scope, the Bill is mainly a listing of all Acts...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: We will have an opportunity later today to discuss the budget, as well as discussing the social welfare provisions next week. There is an air of predictability that whatever was decided yesterday would provoke a reaction. Indeed, it is the Opposition's job and responsibility to do so.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: It is important that we have a proper context, however. In accepting an adjustment of €4 billion and that public sector costs should be reduced by €1.3 billion, there is also an onus on the Opposition to say how that can be done without making the type of changes that were done yesterday.

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: We will have an opportunity to debate the budget later. Buoyancy and competitive tendering have already been factored in to the figures presented to the Oireachtas for decision, so it is not being honest to those we represent to say otherwise. We will not avoid difficult decisions in this or subsequent budgets. It is not as if anyone wants to make these decisions, but it is the...

Seanad: Budget 2010: Statements (10 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: Budget 2010 will be seen as pivotal. It will be ranked alongside other infamous budgets such as the Ernest Blythe budget of the 1920s, the 1969 budget which commenced the process of deficit borrowing and the 1987 budget which is probably the most comparable in terms of our attempts to restore and correct the nation's finances. It is the responsibility of any Government where public...

Seanad: Climate Change: Statements (10 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: I first became an elected public representative in 1991 in the local elections, when I was given the honour of representing people on what was then Cork Corporation, now Cork City Council. It was an interesting time for environmental politics because much of the world's media and international governments were exercised with many of the issues we have continued to talk about in nearly 20...