Results 3,441-3,460 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Never was it more necessary to promote our economy abroad, and if that means going over there and sloshing horrible-tasting green beer, shaking hands with the ancient order of this, that or the other thing——

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: ——or meeting the various brotherhoods then so be it. If that is what it takes to get people to come to this country, invest in this country, buy in this country and have confidence in our economy, the Government would be better off going abroad to wherever the important markets are in a properly organised and effective fashion. I want to see them do that and I will defend it publicly....

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I take it that the Senator will accept our amendment.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: At the moment.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "the credit union sector" and substitute the following: "—and noting that loan impairments in some credit unions are running as high as 15% to 20%; noting that almost one third of Irish credit unions had first quarter losses which on an annualised basis are between €100,000 and €1.2 million; noting that many credit unions have been...

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: There is that other one that has been in the news a great deal lately which is also supposedly mutual. I make no comment on that. It is a fact that one third of all credit unions lost money in the first quarter accounts which were published and sent to the regulator. One third of credit unions, many of them small in size, were losing between €100,000 and €1.2 million annually. That is...

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: He cannot safeguard them.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: That is incorrect.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: On the record.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: No one is arguing with that. He is held in the highest regard.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Those were the days.

Seanad: Local Economic Initiatives: Motion (4 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Senator Boyle should carry on. He is in charge tonight.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: The points made by Senator Fitzgerald are extremely important. The only aspect on which we differ is that I would not ask for an apology because an apology for which one is obliged to ask is not worth receiving.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: The Government should come clean in respect of the issues to which the Senator referred. It would boost confidence if it were to admit that it made mistakes, if it identified those mistakes and indicated how it intends to approach matters from now on. I am glad the Government is involved in discussions with the Opposition parties and the social partners and is trying to develop a strategy....

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: On the Order of Business, I regret No. 1, motion re Draft Planning and Development (Regional Planning Guidelines) Regulations, is not being debated. I should have raised this matter with the Leader during the course of the week. Will he reconsider it? This issue has been raised by many Senators on both sides of the House. For example, Senator MacSharry raised it three or four times and I...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: ——and supported by Governments in both jurisdictions. Having spent 25 years trying to scramble our way out of chaos, we must stand together against those who attempt to plunge communities back into it. It is not the time to focus on minor differences of opinion. We must take certain positive aspects from the events. We must recognise that all political parties, North and South and in...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (11 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Tá deacracht agam leis an Order of Business don lá inniu, agus ceapaim gur cheart dhá uair a chloig do bheith againn don díospóireacht ar an nGaeilge. Níl ach aon uair agus ceathrú a chloig againn, agus braithim go bhfuil sé sin ró ghairid. I believe it should be extended to two hours. Perhaps there is a problem with this, but if so we need to hear about it. It certainly needs to...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (11 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: The construction industry has a brass neck to come and tell us about its troubles.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (11 Mar 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.