Results 3,421-3,440 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Second Stage. (26 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: They never said "solely".

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Second Stage. (26 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I wish to share time with Senator Bacik.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Second Stage. (26 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I will begin with one figure, that is, one out of ten. Every member of the Government should listen to the news tonight and examine the results of the opinion poll tomorrow because we have clearly failed to make it known across the floor that the Government measures are neither understood, accepted nor supported by the vast majority of people. It seems desperately useless, therefore, for...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Without a doubt there is a crisis of confidence among the people in the Government. I have a simple question for the Leader. Given that the Members opposite have not listened to us for the past six months when we told them the people are very unhappy and do not have confidence in the Government, is there a possibility that today's opinion poll might be brought to the Government's attention,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: ——with a view to taking appropriate action in response to it? They do not read the newspapers, as I heard one Minister say. We should propose the Minister, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe, for a star performance on "Morning Ireland" this morning. He clearly had not read the opinion poll, that is for sure. That is serious and has gone beyond a joke, but on a more serious point, I would like to...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State back to the House. The legislation contains extraordinary elements. In terms of the first amendment, a "whereas" takes centre stage in that it effectively makes it clear that the provisions are time bound by circumstances, namely, serious economic disturbances and deteriorations. Unless the pessimistic view that the circumstances will last forever is taken,...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Has there been engagement with ICTU on its ten point plan? If there has not been such engagement, how can the Government seriously or plausibly ask for support across the political spectrum? It certainly cannot be delivered upon. In supporting this amendment, I consider the issue that has been raised by Senator Alex White and others to be absolutely correct. If there is honesty in this...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: They heeded the advice of the Pensions Board and people like me. As president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, I approached the then Minister, the late Séamus Brennan, to offer my support for legislation making it compulsory for all workers to pay into a pension fund. I made the same suggestion in this House on several occasions. I have always taken a clear stance on this issue. If...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Yes. Something similar to what I am suggesting has been done within that group of companies in the United Kingdom. There is no equity in regard to pensions. I cannot find it in my heart to support this legislation. I have sometimes been the only person on this side of the House to support Government proposals. I have no difficulty in offering a disinterested view of a particular issue,...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Accepted.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: It did not apply to the top.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: My point concerned only private sector workers.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: It is a million and a half, give or take. How many of those jobs are not threatened and why are they not included in the wording? Some people would be in safe and secure jobs.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages. (27 Feb 2009)

Joe O'Toole: We are just getting to the meat of the issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I would appreciate if the Leader would provide for a debate not just on the point raised by Senator Fitzgerald about regulation and regulators but about regulation in general and how it works. What always seems to happen is that we run into one issue after another and the burden of difficulty always lies with the regulator. There is a classic example in this regard. I heard the Chairman of...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: ——who have been paying for the second most expensive electricity in Europe over the past ten years, completely unnecessarily, in order to comply with a policy option of Government to open up the market. There is something daft about that. Twenty years ago I used to argue with people in the trade union movement who were bound up in principle on issues of nationalisation and...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (3 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: The ESB reduced its staff numbers from 12,000 to 8,000.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (3 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Some 81% of the bad debts written off relate to developers.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the announcement made by the Government yesterday on taxation. I am one of those who has been shouting for an approach in that direction for the last three or four months. I look forward to seeing what the approach will be. As long as there is a fair and progressive approach to taxation people will have to bite the bullet, and society will be prepared to do so if measures are...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: We need our people abroad. Never was it more necessary to sell Ireland internationally.