Results 2,021-2,040 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Mediation on the form of implementation.

Seanad: Road Safety Authority Bill 2004: Second Stage. (10 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Over the past while, the issue of road safety has been much debated. It is important to consider some of the issues underlying this. It has become a political football. I was a Member when the Government changed from one side of the House to the other. At the time, I had tabled amendments to road safety legislation to give local authorities the power to implement minimum speed limits on...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I understand Senator Quinn will give the House an opportunity to discuss that matter on Private Members' business next week. I raised a related matter in the House on a number of occasions, namely, the question of where we stand on renewable energy. A man who was far too bright to be retained in the public service, Eddie O'Connor, has put forward a clear proposal for a linked series of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: He has much to be humble about.

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Was the Minister from Kerry?

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Absolutely.

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Mr. Butler also received telephone calls from at least three Members of this House making him aware that the issue would be raised here.

Seanad: Migration Report: Statements. (11 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I also welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Killeen, to the House. I also wish to thank him and show appreciation for the work he does in his Department. This issue demands much of our time. This morning's debate has been extremely positive and supportive of the issues, which demonstrates a great understanding on the part of Members. What...

Seanad: Migration Report: Statements. (11 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle. After reading the report and listening to the comments in this debate, I do not like the idea of ghettoisation, even though I know it is not what the committee intended. There is an element of ghettoisation in hiving responsibility off to another new Department. This would mean that immigrants could be told to deal with the Department of...

Seanad: Deaths of Former Members: Expressions of Sympathy. (16 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: The Independent Members wish to be associated with the words of condolence offered by the previous speakers. None of us served in this House with either of the two former Senators. I knew the former Senator Mannion quite well. He was on very friendly terms with the former Leader of the House, former Senator Maurice Manning. I met him when he visited the House and in Clifden on a number of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (16 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: In dealing with industrial relations issues it is regularly pointed out to me how slow groups like IBEC have been to say when things go wrong with their members and that they are afraid to single them out for criticism. We do it differently on the other side. I do not have the slightest difficulty whatever in condemning this action. It is inappropriate, unofficial and is in breach of the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (17 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Yesterday, another incident took place involving a school bus, bringing the total number of such incidents to about six in the past year. Thankfully, nobody was injured in yesterday's accident. The previous accident was also a fire in which, luckily, nobody was injured. This must be taken in hand and if money must be invested, so be it. Anybody regularly driving around this country will have...

Seanad: Waste Management: Statements. (17 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Printing on one side of the page is not the problem of Friends of the Earth, it is the problem of the man who printed it who did not choose the option to print it on both sides.

Seanad: Waste Management: Statements. (17 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I wish to share time with Senator Henry. I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This is a matter of crucial importance to every community. When debating Ireland's energy needs recently, I suggested to the Minister for Finance that if communities in a clearly defined area were prepared to take complete control and responsibility for all their own waste and energy needs, they should be...

Seanad: Death of Staff Member: Expressions of Sympathy. (23 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: On behalf of those on the Independent benches, I would like to be associated with the previous comments and offer our condolences to Breda's colleagues, her circle of friends and her family. We may not have known Ms Courtney that well but we would exchange a half smile and a friendly nod whenever she passed by. She was courteous at all times. The part that she played and her colleagues...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: It is not ten years since the House discussed the future of Telecom Éireann in a debate which revolved around issues such as privatisation, nationalisation and state ownership. We should look back and learn from that debate. I recall Senators using arguments about having to wait for months to get a landline and the need for investment to ensure broadband was available throughout the country,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (23 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Members have expressed their views during a number of visits by important dignitaries from the United States. They may be our guests but this does not mean we must agree with everything they do. They should hear our views on their approach and policies. Such a discussion would be useful. I support Senator Brian Hayes's call for a debate on the future plans for Aer Lingus and request a debate...

Seanad: Road Safety Authority Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (23 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I support the group of amendments. We encounter this issue regularly in this House. I have spoken to many Ministers on this issue who said they never noticed it until they came into this House. Nobody takes any notice of it in the Dáil. It is most irritating. It is demeaning of public representatives. In effect it says we cannot trust them. On certain occasions it would be inappropriate to...

Seanad: Road Safety Authority Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (23 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State's approach and I am happy to go along with it. I appreciate his thoughtful response. My first working involvement in politics was as a member of the road safety committee of Dublin County Council. I was wearing an educational hat. It was my introduction to sitting in a room and working with politicians. I was a young teacher at the time. I was impressed by...

Seanad: Order of Business. (24 May 2006)

Joe O'Toole: On a related matter on the question of abuse of children, the House is aware of the extraordinary statement made by the representative of the Christian Brothers to the redress board during the week, to the effect that victims of clerical sexual child abuse put forward their complaints in the hope of getting money. This House debated those issues on a number of occasions and showed...