Results 801-820 of 2,834 for speaker:Paul Gogarty

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: I do not remember in recent years when social welfare was going up that Deputies were singling out the blind or any other grouping to get more than someone else. The cost of living has fallen by 6% and it will continue to fall.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: In relative terms those on social welfare are doing better than they did five years ago. That does not mean I am happy that money has been taken off them. I am not happy, but where does one make up a third of the budget?

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: Another point of order. Have your fun. Christmas is coming.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: I will do my best. How many minutes remain?

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: Despite the talk about the vulnerable being hit disproportionately by this social welfare reduction, the reality is that the additional child support measures compensate for the cut in children's allowance. Those who can afford to take the hit on children's allowance will take it and those who cannot afford to will be compensated. This is not hitting the vulnerable. When the reduction in...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: Although social welfare accounts for one third of overall expenditure, it is not even one eighth of the overall cuts.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: The people for whom I feel most sorry are those who are working on low and medium incomes. They will bear the brunt of this. Social welfare had to be cut proportionately or else it would be more beneficial not to work. We have a national minium wage. If one introduced the public sector pay cut, which was absolutely necessary, and one did not do anything about social welfare-----

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: It must be balanced.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: The Deputy is calling me a right winger. The only time I played on the right wing was during my GAA days.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: Sorry.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: Hypocrisy has that impact on me; I just veer towards it.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: I will resume my contribution. I have never been called a Thatcherite before and it is refreshing. The proposals in the budget very much protect education. I am sure some of the Deputies opposite would have been ranting and raving if it had not been.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: I have been criticised for ensuring that protection because it has meant that other areas have been hit harder. However, we had to make a choice between protecting our children to ensure our future economic prosperity and social cohesion or cutting our education budget. I make no bones about protecting education over other areas. Other areas have suffered a little bit more because of it.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: The price of tenders has gone down; it is proportionate.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: If Deputy Bannon looked at the overall figures for cuts in each Department, he will find education is way up there.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: If the Deputy read about the review of SNAs and how they are allocated, he would understand why a review is being carried out. However, I will not go into that debate now. We are talking about the social welfare budget.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: As I said, this is regrettable but necessary. Everyone on this side of the House will stand by this because it must be done.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: Does any Member opposite believe for one second that Members on this side of the House would not take a populist decision, say that they cannot do this because it hurts the vulnerable and that they will vote against it? The temptation is to save one's seat. However, I fundamentally believe the right thing to do is to lose popularity and try to get our economy on a sound footing.

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: If we do not take in more tax revenue and do not create more jobs, there will not be money for social welfare. There will not be money for services. That balance must be struck. With due respect to the Labour Party, it sees things from a slightly different perspective and I respect that view. I hope people will also respect the fact that certain decisions have been made not to bail out...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: I reluctantly, but wholeheartedly, support the proposals. I heard the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, on the radio and I have read the document to see who is being hit the most and what protections are in place and I am satisfied that while no one will like it, it will not lead to an increase in the poverty rate. Similarly, the public sector pay cuts will hurt many people but the mortgage...