Results 2,481-2,500 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Solutions are the Senator's job.

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I welcome the Minister of State. When we look towards the future, we should always cast an eye back on the past to understand why we ended up in this situation in the first place. Lord David Owen, a former British Foreign Secretary and is a qualified doctor, wrote a book entitled In Sickness and In Power. In it he examined how illness affected those in power. He described something that...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Fortunately, the Minister of State does not suffer from the same sense of arrogance. At the time growth in our economy was of the amount of €15 billion per annum. That growth, about which everyone was boasting, was exactly the same as the amount the ordinary man and woman in the country was borrowing at the time. Growth was exactly the same as borrowing. How did this change matters? In...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: He was looking for an election last week.

Seanad: Mental Health (Involuntary Procedures) (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (2 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I ask the Minister of State to comment on the issues I will raise. I am probably the only Member of this House who has administered ECT. It is a truly barbaric procedure but so too is major surgery. We should consider the outcome of the treatment in asking whether it is necessary. I have witnessed the recovery of people who were incredibly depressed after they were treated with ECT but I...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business. I call on the Minister for Finance, Deputy Lenihan, to make a statement to the Seanad regarding the partnership talks and what is happening.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: If the Minister is in a position to make a statement to the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party then he should be in a position to make a statement to Seanad Éireann as well. The Minister should be called to the House and there should be a full discussion on the matter. It has been announced there will be cuts to child benefit. The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, announced...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Yes.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: At a time when we are trying to be more accountable to the general public on financial issues, we should have tightened the figures a little better and provided for more clarity in other sections. For example, section 5 deals with codes of conduct, but the Minister should publish them to give us a greater idea of what is going on. Perhaps, the Minister of State will have the opportunity...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Did the Minister of State indicate that details of ministerial expenses are being published every month?

Seanad: Business of Seanad (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Is there a time limit for the motion?

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I move amendment No. a1: In page 5, between lines 12 and 13, to insert the following: "(4) On becoming aware of any breach of the application of the code, the Secretary General shall advise the member that a breach has occurred and the implications of such a breach.". This amendment makes it clear that the Secretary General of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission shall be responsible for...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Senator O'Toole has given a better explanation than I could thanks to his great experience of these matters. He identified the problems that could arise if a significant event warranted reference to the legislation.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I move amendment No. b1: In page 6, line 29, after "Commission" to insert the following: "and of this group not more than 1 shall be a member of a political party which for the time has members who form part of the government". There should be all-party membership of the audit committee now that its function has changed. I do not recall whether the Minister of State explained, when he was...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: It does not vary all that much.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I would hate to see a situation occur in which the Government would find it difficult to find one person to represent it on the audit committee or that there would not be two people available from the Opposition to fill an auditor's position.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: That would be unusual to say the least. Does putting the audit committee on a statutory basis involve a change in the responsibilities of the members or does it place any additional burden on them?

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I asked earlier where additional money was spent between the 2004-06 budgets and the 2007-09 budgets, which came to about €80 million. The Minister gave a breakdown on some of it, but can his officials give me a full breakdown on where all that additional money has gone?

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: It is related to the section. It is a question about audit.

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Eligible Liabilities Guarantee) Scheme 2009: Motion (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Things have changed dramatically in the 12 months since the current scheme was first proposed. With NAMA, we are told that matters are improving. Is the Minister of State premature in bringing forward this scheme when it is due to kick in at the end of September 2010? Perhaps he should leave it be until March, April or May to see how things pan out next year. The Irish taxpayer has just...