Results 321-340 of 1,594 for speaker:Mick Wallace in 'Dáil debates'

Water Services (Amendment) Bill 2011 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (26 Jan 2012)

Mick Wallace: I have an impression and I am possibly wrong so I wish to check it. When the Minister has reached the point where he has finished his inspections and when the remedial work is done, will it be true to say that some tanks in Ireland will still be contaminating the water table?

European Council Meeting: Statements (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: I wish to share time with Deputies Shane Ross, Clare Daly, Richard Boyd Barrett and Seamus Healy.

European Council Meeting: Statements (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: A lot has been said about what this fiscal compact means for us and the rest of Europe. I would like to quote from Martin Wolf's article in the Financial Times today. He puts it pretty well when he states: The ECB has saved the eurozone from a heart attack. But its members face a long convalescence, made worse by the insistence that fiscal starvation is the right remedy for feeble patients...

Economic Competitiveness (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: Question 5: To ask the Minister for Finance in view of statements that our recovery will be export-led, the country's financial situation is unlikely to improve until we deal more directly with the problems facing the domestic economy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5931/12]

Economic Competitiveness (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: The Minister must surely agree that the relationship between the export figures and the number of people involved looks unusual. For example, I believe the top three export companies in Ireland at the moment are Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Google. They export over €24 billion in products and services and account for 15% of our exports. Given that they account for 0.3% of the...

Economic Competitiveness (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: Incentives for people investing in small businesses would be a help as well.

Economic Competitiveness (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: I assure the Minister that I am not a doom and gloom merchant.

Economic Competitiveness (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: However, indigenous industry would be far more likely to create secondary industry, given that many of our multinationals bring in much of their material from abroad. There is not quite as much the same spin-off from that. I saw a statement today from Mark Fielding of ISME, who said "How many more people must we lose to emigration and unemployment before we see some action from this ......

Tax Code (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: Deputy Boyd Barrett will give the Minister tea.

Primary Schools: Motion (Resumed) (1 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: Clearly, many decisions are being made on the basis of how numbers and money add up. Unfortunately, life is not like that and there are many other factors to consider. Although it may seem rational to make these cuts on the basis of numbers and money, the impact these cuts will have on the community reduce the merit of what is being done. We have seen so much of this same thinking applied...

Health Service Plan 2012: Statements (Resumed) (2 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: The general nature of the plan is difficult, given that so much money is being cut from it. It will be very difficult to provide the same services with fewer people. A strong unknown element is involved. It must have been difficult to plan for how many people were going to avail of the opportunity to avoid pension cuts. It appears that 3,500 people will leave the medical profession, a...

Private Members' Business: Community Employment Schemes: Motion (Resumed) (8 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: I also support the Sinn Féin motion. These cuts are a very bad idea. The Ferns community employment scheme contacted me shortly after the cuts were announced. They were upset and scared that their scheme will not survive if the cuts are implemented. Community employment schemes have much more to offer than they are being given credit for. Most of their participants are job seekers. They...

Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: This is an important Bill and many decisions will be made. The legal profession impacts on many people's lives. The cost element needs to be tackled. When the legal profession comes to mind, the first thought that occurs to people is that availing of it costs too much. Prices have fallen in the past while. I remember how it was impossible to get a barrister for my business for less than...

Departmental Reports (14 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: I am glad to hear the new strategy will involve a comprehensive early years policy. How will the new strategy address the alarming rates of child poverty in Ireland, with over 19% of children at risk of poverty and 9% of children living in consistent poverty? What are the Minister's views of the fact that measures introduced in the budget may result in an increase in these rates, given...

Finance Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: I propose to share time with Deputies Luke 'Ming' Flanagan and Donnelly. The Government said that this Finance Bill is geared towards creating jobs but I would have liked to see less emphasis on foreign direct investment and more on indigenous industry. Jobs and exports will come from foreign direct investment but, if we are serious about creating jobs, we must look more closely at the...

Human Rights Issues (21 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: Question 64: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he accepts the evidence presented by Amnesty International and others that Shannon Airport has been used as a stopover point for renditions; if he will initiate an enquiry into the State's participation in this illegal activity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9942/12]

Human Rights Issues (21 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: I remind the Tánaiste that in June 2006 he said that the European Court of Human Rights, the United Nations Committee Against Torture and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights had all indicated that: [I]t is insufficient to accept the diplomatic assurances of another state that nothing illegal was happening on planes being used and chartered by the CIA, which are going through Irish...

Human Rights Issues (21 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: The chances of the Americans asking us for permission to bring through prisoners who they will torture are pretty slim. We have seen what has gone on Guantanamo Bay where only a handful of people have been convicted despite the numbers held in custody. I draw the Minister's attention to a comment by President Michael D. Higgins in December 2010, only 14 months ago. He stated: The...

Human Rights Issues (21 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: The Minister stated the law is very robust in respect of control of airspace. Why did President Higgins, when he was a Labour Party Deputy, propose legislation to close the loopholes in Irish legislation to ensure rendition flights could no longer be possible if the Labour Party now believes everything is grand?

Human Rights Issues (21 Feb 2012)

Mick Wallace: Why did President Higgins suggest it when he was a Deputy? The Minister did not answer my question.