Results 47,921-47,940 of 49,836 for speaker:Stephen Donnelly

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Is questioning the Tánaiste not my job?

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Answer the question. It is a disgrace.

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: This morning I received a letter from 66 pensioners in Carnew, County Wicklow.

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: They were writing to express their outrage at the scrapping of the telephone rental allowance, as a result of which many are being forced to cancel their land lines. Not only will this cut them off from friends and family but it will also cut them off from their community-based alarm system. Benny Conaghan said: "They shouldn't have taken it from us in the first place because it means so...

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: Unfortunately, the full impact of the budget on Mr. Sheppard or the other pensioners is unknown. During Leaders' Questions on an occasion before the budget was introduced I asked the Tánaiste to inform the Dáil how the burden of the budget would be distributed across society. He refused to do so. Now we know. This morning, one week after the Finance Bill was voted through the...

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: The poorest 10% of people in the country are being asked to give up the most. The next poorest 10% in the country are being asked to give up the next amount. A study of 80%of the population will show a correlation between poverty and how much budget 2014 takes from the poorest. We all know the budget has to be closed but it does not have to be closed in this way. I bet the Tánaiste...

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: That is exactly what this budget does and what this Government has done through the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill and the Finance Bill.

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: When the Tánaiste ordered Labour Party Deputies to vote through the Finance Bill last week, did he know that he was asking them to vote for something that would take the most amount from the poorest people in this country?

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: The Tánaiste says it is working. Who is it working for? It is not working for the poorest people in the country. What he is espousing is old-fashioned Thatcherite-Reagan economics which says, "Take care of the rich and the benefits will trickle down".

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: It seems we have hit on a sensitive issue because the analysis is unambiguous. Of course there are always errors in analysis but the ESRI analysis is the best we have. I discussed it with them this morning on the telephone. It is a solid analysis which states unambiguously that this Government in budget 2014 is asking the poorest people in the country to take the greatest share of the...

Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: It is bad social policy and bad economic policy. It leads to a rise in inequality and inequality is bad for everybody. The Tánaiste, of all people, knows that but it is what he is doing. Why is this happening? Why are Labour Deputies voting through a budget that hits the poorest hardest? I believe part of the reason is that none of us knows what we are voting for because we do not...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Health Services Staff Data (12 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: 208. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs further to Parliamentary Question No. 232 of 26 September 2013, if the Health Service Executive has provided a response; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [53473/13]

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Currency Exchange (10 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: 126. To ask the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the growing use of crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin; if he has concerns regarding the legality of using such currencies as de facto legal tender in any transactions in this jurisdiction; if he has any concerns regarding the use of such currencies to circumvent taxes and any potential loss to the Exchequer as a result;...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Enrolments (10 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: 199. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if schools can amend admissions policies to prioritise children of a particular faith in instances where their applications for patronage stated they will embrace children of all faiths and none; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52923/13]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Haddington Road Agreement Implementation (10 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: 218. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if new sick leave entitlements under the Haddington Road agreement, which amount to three months full pay and three months half-pay in a four-year period, will be applied retrospectively to affected public servants; or if the measure will only affect those applying for sick leave after the implementation of the changes; and if he will...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Mental Health Services Provision (10 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: 513. To ask the Minister for Health in regard to the paucity of facilities available to the mental health team serving areas of north Wicklow (details supplied), in particular now that the planned primary care centre appears to be indefinitely postponed, if he will ask the Health Service Executive to complete an urgent review of the current situation, with a view to the HSE providing adequate...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Staff Sick Leave (5 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: 173. To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he will examine the case of a person (details supplied) employed in his Department who was recently on sick leave and who is now owed both sick-pay and earned income; if he will expedite payment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52236/13]

Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. The targets, while well-meant, are being gamed by all of the banks. We know from the finance committee hearings in September that the way they have met the targets is by issuing tens of thousands of legal letters offering to evict people from their homes. The Central Bank has colluded in this by accepting that a threatening legal letter counts as a...

Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: I welcome the Tánaiste's statement that no bank should be seen to be holding back. The reality is that one bank, at least, is - namely, Bank of Ireland.

Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2013)

Stephen Donnelly: It is not acting irrationally because it is the job of the board and its executives to make the bank as much money as possible. A bank makes money by taking money in from people, giving them as low a rate of interest as possible on their deposits, lending it out while charging as high an interest rate as possible and then squeezing and squeezing as much as necessary to get that money back....