Results 3,541-3,560 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: It is worth teasing out the matter. I refer to the recent Northern Bank money laundering case. It took a team of 26 gardaí several months to examine one series of documents on computer and on file. They had to go through every document and that was outlined in the court. One side of the argument is related to the length of time it takes to go through computerised information because one...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: From experience, I do not believe that would quicken matters in any way. I would be very open to a change if change were necessary to get the right balance. However, to get the right balance one must go to the middle and the only middle ground I can see is the phrase "reasonably practicable". If there is another form of words which could deal with both ends of the argument we should...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: This is very sensible and we should support it. This is an example of where the pendulum shifts to require the Director of Corporate Enforcement to go to court. This balance is present in the Bill, which I am sure he finds something of a pain at times. However, we have inserted this protection and it is quite correct to do so.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: These issues change with the public mood. The provenance of this legislation is simple. As Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Minister's predecessor would deal with this issue very quickly. When she was in front of the Committee of Public Accounts in 2002 discussing the issue of offshore accounts, she said we would never again have to listen to the argument...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I was waiting for someone to give me an answer on section 31.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I am a complex person.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I accept what the Tánaiste has said. It matches my understanding of the position. It might help Senator Cannon if a comma were included after the word "company" in the proposed new section 40 of the 1990 Act. Although the word "who" cannot refer to a company, the manner in which the proposed section is worded almost suggests the company is being referred to. The Tánaiste has made it...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Is there a date for that Bill?

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Will I have retired at that stage?

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: That does not always happen, unfortunately.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Three cases of this nature were reported in one of yesterday's newspapers. In one case, four different family members were included in an action. When I read about the case, I wondered whether each of the four people in question knew what they were getting themselves into. That is part of the problem in many cases. The points made by the Tánaiste seem reasonable. I do not think she will...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Senator Cannon has a very strong point on this issue. Maybe there is something in the Bill that we do not understand. It seems, however, that what Senator Cannon feared in respect of the earlier amendment could happen under this provision, that a company could be in default and a director who acted honourably and correctly but was kept in the dark would be guilty of an offence. There seems...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: What about a loan made to director A that is hidden from directors B and C?

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: There is an inherent contradiction regarding the stipulations on guilt. Progress reported; Committee to sit again.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I thank Senator Fitzgerald for sharing her time with me. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Power, to the House. I will begin by giving my background in this area. Throughout my adult life I have been involved in the development world and related matters. I established and operated a Central American charity at one stage and have led the development of a significant Third World...

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Does the Senator reckon that Fianna Fáil will still be in government?

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Fianna Fáil might be back in government in ten years' time.

Seanad: Companies (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (20 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Order of Business (21 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I propose an amendment to the Order of Business that we discuss the Ryan report today, if at all possible. I listened to the Leader's reply on it, but I believe this is an urgent issue. Senator Fitzgerald's point is crucial. This covers the whole of our community and follows logically from one step to another. The problem two weeks ago with the Ombudsman for Children was that she did not...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 May 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I can give the House chapter and verse and name the people who stood in the way of the Stay Safe programme, mandatory reporting, sexual education programmes in schools and I could go on. These people did the same here in education in some of the high offices of State and managed to carry the day. They have escaped in the course of these reports and I certainly believe they have much to...