Results 261-280 of 1,594 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Mick Wallace

Health Insurance (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (1 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: Deputy 'Ming' Flanagan is a remarkably positive man.

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: I wish to share time with Deputies Richard Boyd Barrett and Shane Ross.

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: I am not sure what people expected from the budget of today and yesterday, but there was a mixture of hope and fear. There is much anger out there and people are not very happy about how things are. It is very difficult for many people, and those people have many reasons to be angry. The recession is getting deeper for many and unemployment is at a very high level, especially for young...

Budget Statement 2012 (6 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: Mr. Albert Einstein, the philosopher and mathematician, said the human being is both solitary and social. As a solitary being he looks after his best interests, himself and his nearest of kin, and tries to develop his innate abilities and survive the best way he can. As a social being he develops a caring approach to other people. He develops an interest in his neighbour and cares about...

Order of Business (7 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: I have asked a number of times about the promised legislation on the strategic investment bank. Surely most of the aspirations in yesterday's budget about any recovery in the domestic economy are dependent on the availability of funding for small and medium-sized businesses. Without a strategic investment bank it will be very hard to reassure the business community about that.

European Summit: Motion (8 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: Things are reaching crisis point in Europe and are not all well. The chances of Europe being saved this week are pretty slim but it will probably not be saved this week, this month or next year. It will be an ongoing process. Ms Merkel seems to have different ideas to everyone else, mainly because Germany is in a better state than Europe as a whole. She is in a difficult place with her...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Second Stage (8 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: Deputy Boyd Barrett will also speak at the end for two minutes. The most striking aspect of the budget is its obvious lack of fairness. There is not much of an attempt to tackle the growing levels of inequality in society, nor is there a serious attempt to protect those who need the Government's help the most. I do not want to get into a big debate on how to raise the money we need, but I...

Social Welfare Bill 2011: Second Stage (8 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: She got a job in her local crèche in September but needed to wait for Garda vetting to qualify. Her vetting only cleared yesterday. She was told that, once she had been vetted, she could start immediately, but FÁS has since told the crèche that she cannot start until January, meaning that she will lose her one-parent family benefit. This measure disproportionately hits the less well-off...

Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second Stage (13 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: I propose to share time with Deputies Catherine Murphy, Tom Fleming, Thomas Pringle, Clare Daly and Joan Collins.

Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Second Stage (13 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: This Bill is similar in nature to the budget in that it lacks fairness. The Minister said this evening that those who are in a vulnerable position in society will be protected under its provisions. I attended a meeting in Wexford last night at which this measure was discussed and where I met many people who are not confident this will be the case. The Minister was also keen to emphasise...

European Council Meeting: Statements (14 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: The Taoiseach will not have been shocked by the failure of the recent summit to solve the European crisis. Pleasing the markets and solving the crisis appear to be strongly linked outcomes. Most people will agree that the markets are unlikely to be satisfied until the European Central Bank agrees to be lender of last resort. The Germans, however, have other ideas. Germany has controlled...

European Council Meeting: Statements (14 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: Deputy Ross took half of my time.

European Council Meeting: Statements (14 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: I would like to read a sort extract from an article in the Financial Times that was written by Gideon Rachman. Many people like him are worried about where we are going. The article states: Mario Draghi, the president of the ECB, has officially ruled out a vast expansion of its bond-buying programme. But the ECB has agreed to lend lots more money to European banks on easy terms - and they...

Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (14 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: I will oppose this section. Many of the measures that have been introduced in recent times are far from fair. The people have had just about enough. This is their first opportunity to have a say on the matter. They cannot do anything about many of the welfare cuts that have been introduced or about the VAT increase, which will have its biggest impact on the less well-off. On this...

Local Government (Household Charge) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages (14 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: The Minister of State has pointed out the categories of household which will be exempt from the charge. However, there are still many left out who will not be in a great position to pay it. The amendment will include those who bought a house from 2003 on. It should actually go back to 2001. Instead of the Government imposing a household charge on the 450,000 unemployed, it would be better...

School Staffing (15 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: I am sure the Minister is well aware that an ESRI report stated that the scaling back of guidance counselling in schools will be most keenly felt among young students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Such students are more reliant on advice from their school in making post-school decisions, particularly those relating to higher education entry and educational quality and standards. The...

School Staffing (15 Dec 2011)

Mick Wallace: There is nothing wrong with the notion of giving more responsibility to the schools themselves but I have spoken to teachers from two different schools who feel they are under more pressure to deal with the children's problems. I do not know whether that is down to the principal not allocating the resources in the most efficient manner. I accept there have been cutbacks and everything is...

Private Members' Business. Special Educational Needs: Motion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2012)

Mick Wallace: It is welcome that the Minister will review this decision. A person who cannot change his or her mind would not know how to change anything. I spoke with some of the parents involved in yesterday's protest. It is mindboggling how the Government allowed matters to get to this point and it is to be hoped the Minister's review will not be a token one. I spoke yesterday with the parents of...

Private Members' Business. Special Educational Needs: Motion (Resumed) (12 Jan 2012)

Mick Wallace: Fine. Three non-contracted teachers are being laid off and the guidance teachers are going back into the mainstream system to replace them. It is the biggest school in Ireland with 1,500 kids and because of the various strands of children entering it, the school cannot afford to cut the subjects and it considers its only option to be to lose three guidance teachers. This is a school that...

Road Network (12 Jan 2012)

Mick Wallace: Question 3: To ask the Minister for Transport; Tourism and Sport if he is concerned that there are a number of serious inaccuracies (details supplied) in the Route Selection Report for the proposed Oilgate to Rosslare Harbour, County Wexford road upgrade project; the action he proposes to correct these inaccuracies in a report which fails to justify the proposed project, which has so far...