Results 2,221-2,240 of 7,975 for speaker:Joe Higgins

Order of Business (Resumed) (9 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: What about an apology?

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Beginning in January 2014, approximately 11,000 workers will reach 65 years of age and should be going on to the State contributory pension. Today, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Joan Burton, intends to ram a Bill through the Dáil which will mean these workers will not get a cent at 65 but will have to work another full year. The Minister also intends to ram through an increase...

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: How would the Taoiseach like an aunt or another female relative to be forced to work in industrial cleaning until they were almost 70 years? This is nothing more than a further attack on working people in the Taoiseach's mission, along with the EU-ECB-IMF, to salvage the speculators in Europe from their disastrous debts in Irish property.

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Is the Taoiseach aware that France, Spain and other countries had major national debates on raising the state pension age? In Ireland, however, the media seems to have gone to sleep.

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: No worker knows what is coming. In view of the democratic right of people to have a major debate on this crucial change in social policy, will he withdraw these rotten measures in the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011 to allow for a national debate on them?

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Answer the question and stop giving red herrings.

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: I find it interesting that the Taoiseach, the Government and its backbenchers treat this issue with contempt. It is an issue of primary importance for the tens of thousands who will be affected by it and forced to work in the most difficult circumstances until they are 68 years. More importantly, only in two and a half years time these measures will affect 11,000 workers. This is of the...

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: The very point, Deputy Buttimer, is that there have been no headlines about these measures. The people are not aware of them.

Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Will the Taoiseach indicate how he dares to call the Ministry in question the Ministry for Social Protection, particularly in view of the fact that a measure which amounts to social aggression will be put through the House today? What is proposed represents an attack on the elderly or those who are growing old.

Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: In the Dublin West by-election of April 1996 the late Brian Lenihan, on the final count, secured 11,754 votes. I happened to be the nearest rival candidate, just 370 votes behind. In the context of that by-election and since we clashed sharply on political issues, and it has to be said that our differences would have grown wide as a chasm, especially on issues relating to the EU-IMF-ECB...

EU Summits (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Question 7: To ask the Taoiseach the issues he intends to prioritise for the meeting of EU heads of Government in the coming weeks. [15348/11]

EU Summits (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Question 8: To ask the Taoiseach if he will receive any heads of Governments or official representatives of foreign Governments between now and the end of July 2011. [15369/11]

EU Summits (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: My question to the Taoiseach was to outline the issues he intends to prioritise for the EU summit. Unfortunately, he did not answer that question so I must ask a number of key supplementary questions. It beggars belief that the Taoiseach did not come in here today and say that his priorities for the EU Heads of State meeting were the conditions laid down by the EU-IMF-ECB diktats, a demand...

EU Summits (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Having travelled before the election to meet his political big sister, Frau Merkel, to establish what we thought was a best friendship forever on the basis that she would insist on supporting a reduction in interest rates and burning bondholders, what has happened? Has the Taoiseach abandoned completely the promises he made and his strong hint that his Government would demand the speculators...

EU Summits (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: -----that it is a crisis of the same diseased financial system in Europe and that the Greek working class are the victims of it, like Ireland, that they are on the verge of revolt and revolution and that we should support them.

EU Summits (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: I do not believe the Irish people should change anything at the diktat of President Sarkozy or anybody else.

EU Summits (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: The Taoiseach raised this matter. Leaving aside the pressures of the European establishment, why is the Taoiseach prepared to die on the trenches to ensure big business does not pay a cent more but he has no compunction in hitting the working class and the disabled? When the Taoiseach meets President Van Rompuy, will he insist the issues of the bondholders and the interest rates to this...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Section 3 and the Bill in general deals, in part, with the implementation of the jobs initiative announced a few weeks ago by the Government. The initiative is pathetically inadequate against almost half a million people unemployed. This was recognised by the Government itself in the way it dampened down expectations leading up to the announcement of the initiative. It was downscaled from...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Could the Acting Chairman clarify which amendments have been ruled out of order?

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Jun 2011)

Joe Higgins: Could I ask for clarification on the amendment? Is it the case that neither the Government nor anyone else has a clue as to how many jobs the reduction in employer's PRSI will create? Is it like the removal of the €3 tax for travellers which is supposed to do marvels for the tourism industry? One of the problems we have in trying to get to grips with what the effect of Government policy...