Results 2,861-2,880 of 32,547 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs and External Relations Council: Discussion with Minister of State (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank all members for their questions and the Chairman for the opportunity to answer them. I asked whether I had captured everyone's points because I wanted to ensure that, when I appear at these committee meetings, which I do at least once per month, I could refer to the questions asked at previous meetings without needing to re-invent the wheel. If colleagues put their energies into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: EU General Affairs and External Relations Council: Discussion with Minister of State (14 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I am at pains to avoid blaming European institutions if things are not being done well by national governments. We must undertake such work ourselves with the help of the European institutions. Ideas such as the connected continent will assist us in that regard. As regards the role of national parliaments in the Semester process, as a former member of this committee for six years I know...

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to share time with Deputy Barry.

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on the motion. I will directly respond to the point made by Deputies Murphy and Ross, who criticised the Government for not applying for a precautionary credit line from a fund that the Deputies opposed when it was being set up. Along with Deputy Ross, Deputy Murphy campaigned against the fiscal compact treaty, which allowed our country access to...

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: It is one thing to-----

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: -----speak about a game-changer-----

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: -----but it is entirely another matter to change one's tune in the manner that the Deputy has. She campaigned, along with Deputy Ross, against the setting up of a fund that could provide a credit line, yet she is now criticising the Government for not accessing that line.

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I listened absolutely to what was said.

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I will debate it with the Deputy again. The point stands. We have had speaker after speaker standing up to criticise the Government for not accessing the fund, but the same people campaigned against the creation of the fund in the first place. There is a requirement for some kind of consistency in this discussion. The same consistency is required for the efforts that the State must face...

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: To date, no other country has done it within a single currency zone. Other countries have done it such as Argentina - the course proposed by Deputy Shane Ross. As a consequence, Argentina finds itself subject to ongoing legal trials and is still subject to rates of interest that make it difficult for it to borrow in the way it wants. Another option put forward is that within the existing...

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Deputy. I meant I would give him another book in return. One book I might give in return, one I think he would enjoy, is the recent publication by the National Economic and Social Council which updated a report carried out a number of years ago in the context of recent events. It is called, Ireland's Five-Part Crisis, Five Years On: Deepening Reform and Institutional...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Property Taxation Administration (27 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Senator for raising this issue. I am very much aware of the frustration to which she refers. It is an issue that has been raised with me by my constituents. First, we must acknowledge how difficult it is for so many people to pay the tax. It is an entirely new category of taxation that represents a gigantic change from where we were before the crisis. With both of these...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Property Taxation Administration (27 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Senator for her question and for raising this matter. I agree with the many points that she made earlier. In updating her on the average waiting a number of people had to persist with to pay this tax which is difficult for them to pay, I do not believe it is acceptable that they should have to wait for 18 minutes for a response to their query or for their call to be answered,...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Property Taxation Administration (27 Nov 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: No, I am not.

Topical Issue Debate: Foreign Conflicts (10 Dec 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank Deputy Ann Phelan for raising this matter. I assure her the Government is seriously concerned about the deteriorating position in the Central African Republic that she has just outlined. As the Deputy has acknowledged, in recent weeks there has been an alarming breakdown in law and order and basic social structures in the country, as well as a worrying increase in intercommunal...

Topical Issue Debate: Foreign Conflicts (10 Dec 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I note Deputy Ann Phelan began and ended with Nelson Mandela and invoked his spirit and vision for Africa at the outset of her contribution. I wish to emphasise to the Deputy what the United Nations are doing in this regard, the response of the international community and the Irish view of and support for that. A very important point of difference between the position in the Central African...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Forthcoming General Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister of State at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (10 Dec 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Chairman for giving me an opportunity to appear before the joint committee this afternoon. As the Chairman has said, I will speak first about the General Affairs Council meeting that will take place next Tuesday, 17 December. I have agreed with the Chairman that in the second half of the session I will run through the foreign policy and external relations review. As I...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Forthcoming General Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister of State at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (10 Dec 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank members for their questions. I will take them in the order they were asked. Regarding the Chairman's question on the review of the European External Action Service, EEAS, it has achieved much despite the youth of the organisation and the difficult circumstances it confronted during its establishment. I understand the Chairman's concern about the service's cost. Like him, I am...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Forthcoming General Affairs Council: Discussion with Minister of State at Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (10 Dec 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I had a bilateral meeting a week ago with the foreign Minister of the Moldovan Government and also met with him during the partnership summit in Vilnius. I also met last week with representatives of the Government of Moldova. During the partnership summit I expressed the view that while the focus on the difficulties being experienced in the Ukraine is important, it is also important we do...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on European Union Affairs: Review of Foreign Policy: Discussion with Minister of State (10 Dec 2013)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the opportunity to address the committee on the review of foreign policy and external relations, which we are undertaking in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The purpose of the review, which was launched by the Tánaiste on 8 October, is to provide an updated statement of Ireland's foreign policy and external relations, and to identify a series of recommendations...