Results 3,081-3,100 of 7,975 for speaker:Joe Higgins

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: That is a new precedent.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: While I have no objection to speaking after Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett, it used to be in the order in which the questions appeared.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: Does this mean all Members must now table masses of questions to be first in line?

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: What does that have to do with the questions asked?

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: The same thing used to be said about the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Burton, when she was in opposition.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: Hear, hear.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: My God.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: Does the Taoiseach realise how utterly ludicrous he sounds-----

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: -----in repeating, almost word for word, the responses of former Fianna Fáil Ministers, when they were in power, to questions from Deputy Burton, allegedly the current Minister for Social Protection? It would be a pantomime if the issues were not so serious.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: The Taoiseach did not deal with the substantive issue. How can the Government support the deal agreed by EU Finance Ministers last night in respect of Greece when it is clear that said deal will not solve the critical issue of indebtedness in the peripheral countries, so-called, of the European Union? Is the Taoiseach aware of what will be the extent of the consequences for the Greek people...

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: For the benefit of the chorus of ignoramuses sitting behind the Taoiseach, that is the reality-----

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: I was not referring to the Deputy, I was referring to her two male colleagues who are sitting in front of her-----

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: -----in the context of their denial of the evidence from people on the ground who are suffering the reality of austerity. In 2020, Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio will be 120%.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: We are dealing with it in the context of these questions, which relate to the European Union and the Government's policy in that regard.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: It does.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: Will the Taoiseach recognise that I value every job? However, his over-reliance on foreign multinationals to create jobs - it is virtually his only policy - does not provide sustainability of jobs, in the medium to long term in particular. Just as they walk in, they can walk away. The Taoiseach had not much to say when TalkTalk left with 500 or 600 unemployed workers in its wake.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: Does the Taoiseach not recognise how ludicrous it is? A serious issue is raised, which is debated in the serious financial press, on the effects of austerity on the economy and on people's lives and how it depresses the real economy, but the Government will not address these questions honestly and comes out with abuse and sidestepping. Will the Taoiseach realise and understand that while he...

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: I see the Taoiseach has signed a letter with some other leaders of the European Union, and as right-wing a bunch of Tories and neoliberals one would find it hard to assemble signed it with him.

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: Will the Taoiseach explain why in the letter he goes along with these right-wing economic leaders in favour of far more deregulation and liberalisation, which is precisely what caused the massive crisis in the financial world and the markets?

European Council Meetings (21 Feb 2012)

Joe Higgins: In the letter the Taoiseach states that banks and not taxpayers should be responsible for the risks they take. If he states this in a letter why is he not implementing it instead of bailing out these very banks at huge cost to our people?