Results 2,901-2,920 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Eligible Liabilities Guarantee) (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme 2010: Motion (17 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: The Minister of State should tell us what is going on. The Government has become unstable and lost the confidence of the people. International investors have abandoned Ireland and there is a crisis of confidence in the European Union regarding the Government's ability to fulfil its mandate. In the same way that lions circle a wounded beast, speculators are circling Ireland's economy and...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: There is a certain amount of detail in this report and, like most Members, I have only had the opportunity to go through it briefly. The report also contains a significant amount of waffle and postponement of the rainy day. It pushes certain matters forward to a time when the Government will be a bad memory for the majority of the people. According to Ministers this afternoon, this report...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Motion (30 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: I am a bit surprised by Senator MacSharry's last comment. He might have completely missed the fact the IMF was here and is telling us what to do. We have already dug up that pitch.

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Motion (30 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: We have ploughed up the pitch. The only way any plan for the future will work is if we can improve growth, create jobs and increase competitiveness across all sectors of the economy. The IMF has acknowledged that great work is being done by the private sector and some sections of the public sector to improve competitiveness and the ability to grow in the future which, in turn, will lead to...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Given the dreadful economic and weather conditions and the fact that we are less than a week away from what will be the harshest budget in the history of the State, I will break from my usual format of criticising this dreadful Government and speak only about positive matters. Last night I had reason to ring a number of people in County Wexford which has seen the most dreadful snowfall in...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: The House should also commend local authority workers, gardaí, ambulance crews, doctors, public health nurses and all other health care professionals who are caring for patients and doing their jobs on behalf of the people in what are dreadful weather conditions.

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: That must be responded to.

Seanad: Tributes to Member of Staff (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: On behalf of myself and Fine Gael I wish Shay the very best for the future. He has had a bird's-eye view of Irish political history over four decades and he has watched those of us on temporary contracts coming and going. No doubt he will have many stories to tell because I have often seen his face in the background of many of those prominent photographs taken of people exiting these...

Seanad: EU-IMF Programme for Ireland: Statements (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: It is unusual we are having statements on the EU-IMF programme for Ireland after the so-called Celtic tiger of recent years. We have pumped billions of euro into Irish banks, yet the Minister of State is talking about an additional 10,000 loans from Allied Irish Banks and the Bank of Ireland, valued at €16 billion, being transferred to NAMA. This means the average value of each loan is...

Seanad: EU-IMF Programme for Ireland: Statements (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Fair enough. Reference is made in the plan to reforming the social welfare system and reducing social welfare payments. It appears this will lead to savings of €750 million, which equates to a 4% cut in the social welfare budget. If the Government is intent on protecting old age pensioners, there will be significant cuts for other social welfare recipients in next week's budget. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: When we came in here on that night, the Minister stood across from us and said the bank guarantee was not going to cost us anything. When I tabled an amendment to that legislation to the effect that we should not spend more than €10 billion on bailing out the banks, the Minister stated neither he nor his Government envisaged spending anything like that sort of money. No one from that side...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Senator Boyle has tried to take the high moral ground with the Green Party as to how they would act in government.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: They have been just as deceitful as their Fianna Fáil colleagues in the Cabinet with regard to giving information to the people. All through this year since the last budget and with regard to the banking crisis, it has been nothing but lies after lies after lies.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Quite clearly these lies go back even further than the budget last year.

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: My apologies. I withdraw it and substitute for it the word "untruths" if that is what the Cathaoirleach wishes.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2011: Statements (8 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Do I take it from the Minister of State's ad lib comments near the end of his contribution that it was not Lehman Brothers that got us into this mess but Government policy during the past decade? After we have had time to digest this budget and its impacts fully, it will be interesting to see whether it will contribute to getting us out of this crisis or whether it will be interpreted as a...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2011: Statements (8 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: These are the reasons we are where we are. The budget breaks down into cuts valued at €4 billion and taxes valued at €2 billion. Some €1.8 billion of the cuts will be made in the capital budget. This is a significant portion of the overall adjustments. As we pointed out, there is no clear policy on restoring jobs in the economy. The €1.8 billion would have been spent on building...

Seanad: Confidence in Government: Motion (8 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: I support this Private Members' motion. Listening to the Leader, one would think we lived in the land of milk and honey where everything runs free. The reality is Ireland has been completely abandoned by international investors since last April. No matter what the Leader may think, the Government has lost the complete confidence of the people. It does not matter whether it is the Kaiser...

Seanad: Confidence in Government: Motion (8 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: They hinted at it.

Seanad: Confidence in Government: Motion (8 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Will they pass legislation on climate change, the Dublin mayoralty election and other matters? Have they presented six items of legislation to the Government? Is Senator Boyle saying they will pass this legislation over a weekend in January, as well as the Finance Bill?