Results 661-680 of 4,085 for speaker:Dan Boyle

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: Most Senators will welcome the agreement with the social partners on how we can address the immediate budgetary position. It is an agreement to help us meet the €4 billion adjustment the Minister for Finance will address in the other House next week and which we in this House will have another opportunity to debate. I agree with Senator Alex White in his contention that it is an interim...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: The pre-budget position is ominous and requires difficult decisions to be made not only by the Government but also by the political system. Our room for manouevre is painfully small and we are led by circumstances not entirely within our control. We may not be doing this to the same extent as other countries. However, we have some advantages such as a high level of exports. We have also...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: People think of the value of a shilling in today's terms, but a shilling represented 10% of the old age pension at the time. We cannot imagine the Government coming up with a proposal to slash social welfare payments by 10%, especially pension payments.

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Dan Boyle: That is even higher again. Very difficult decisions will have to be made. The Minister has said that his room for manoeuvre on tax rates is very small. We increased taxes in the April budget, especially through the levy system, and this has improved the effective rate of taxation paid by higher earners and the level of money paid through income tax. Our scope might not be as large this...

Seanad: EU Council Decision: Motion (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: This is a measure that will draw strong support because there is a need for European and international co-operation to deal with the scourge of smuggling. There is an obligation on us as a member state of the European Union to act appropriately. The Minister of State's speech highlights some of the additional measures we are taking through the use of information technology. Those moves are...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: I thank Members for their contributions. Senator Twomey called for the ongoing flooding crisis to be designated as a national emergency. The Government is treating the situation with suitable seriousness and appropriate attention. Providing whatever designation and resources are required to meet it are the Government's responsibility and I am confident that such will be done. The initial...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: ——political system. It has been more talked about than done. The Senator gave the concrete example of the prescient Doherty report, upon which State authorities can and should act. The proposal that it be debated in the House is a valuable one, as it will help in taking further action. Senator Alex White discussed the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill, which has completed...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: The Senator also pointed out the proposals on community development projects. It also is something for which I have sympathy. As someone with a community background, I believe that while there is scope for saving in these areas, the current proposals, which are being introduced over the period of a year to see how they might be refined and to allow an opportunity for debate as to how the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: Senator McDonald, along with Senators Corrigan and Bacik, raised the 16-day campaign against domestic violence which is organised by the Women's Aid organisation, of which a useful monitoring presentation was given yesterday. Obviously, the issues that organisation and the Members were highlighting deserve consideration in this House. There was also a harmony between the Seanad's equivalent...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: ——on the question of a debate on women in politics. The report of the Joint Committee on Justice, Equality, Defence and Women's Right is a valuable one. There will be a related section in an ongoing report being undertaken at present by the Joint Committee on the Constitution, of which Senators Alex White, Regan and O'Donovan, and myself, are members, and I would suggest that maybe when...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: It is about results. Senator McDonald also brought up the question of the carbon tax and how it is applied. Many Members might not have been aware, but the library and research service organised an excellent presentation yesterday in the AV room by Professor John Fitzgerald of the Economic and Social Research Institute where he spoke of how a carbon tax can be applied and how many of the...

Seanad: European Council Decisions: Motions (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion provided by Article 1.11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam to take part in the adoption the following proposed measure: a proposal for a Council Decision concerning the signing of the Agreement between the European Union and Japan on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, a copy of which proposed...

Seanad: European Council Decisions: Motions (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion provided by Article 1.11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam to take part in the adoption of the following proposed measure: a proposal for a Council Decision concerning the signing of the Agreement between the European Union and the United States of America on the processing and transfer of Financial Messaging...

Seanad: European Council Decisions: Motions (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion provided by Article 1.11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam to take part in the adoption of the following proposed measure: a proposal for a Council Framework Decision on Accreditation of forensic service providers carrying out laboratory activities, a copy of which proposed measure was laid before Seanad...

Seanad: European Council Decisions: Motions (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: I move: That Seanad Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion provided by Article 1.11 of the Treaty of Amsterdam to consent to the adoption by the European Union of the following proposed measure: a proposal for a Council Framework Decision on preventing and combating trafficking in human beings, and protecting victims, repealing Framework Decision 2002/629/JHA,...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: The Order of Business is No. 1, motion re agreement between the European Union and Japan on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters; No. 2, motion re agreement between the European Union and the USA on the processing and transfer of financial messaging data; No. 3, motion re forensic service providers carrying out laboratory activities; No. 4, motion re preventing and combating...

Seanad: Flooding: Statements (Resumed) (25 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: At this moment the ESB is briefing representatives from the Cork area regarding the release of water from the Inniscarra dam and its effect on the flooding events in Cork during the past week. I hope to be there shortly to hear what has to be said because I believe an investigation is needed. That event was possibly a factor in what transpired. That said, the flooding that occurred in the...

Seanad: Flooding: Statements (Resumed) (25 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: -----or acting in concert with each other, very often in conspiratorial political groups, to override the decisions of planners and county managers and organise the building of housing and other amenities on areas that should never have been built upon. We are beginning to live with the effect of this. I speak as a representative of the Cork area which, in the current set of circumstances,...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: On behalf of my party, I welcome Senator James Carroll as a new Member of the House and wish him well in all his deliberations. With regard to the Order of Business and the various calls for debates, I very much welcome the proposal of the Labour Party to allow its Private Members' time for a debate on flooding. Allied to the hour already proposed for debate, this will give some of us an...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2009)

Dan Boyle: I would be quite happy to second the amendment. The hour proposed will give many Members an opportunity to respond in an immediate way to what we have witnessed in our local communities in the past week or so. The debate will allow us to talk about the changing weather patterns, how much they will be part of our immediate future and how we need to respond to the problem with co-ordinated...