Results 3,701-3,720 of 4,085 for speaker:Dan Boyle

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: I will tell the Senators why. The Fine Gael manifesto referred to actions in respect of stamp duty that would have further overheated the economy. The Labour Party manifesto sought a reduction in taxes.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: What would our budget deficit be——

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: During the 2007 general election campaign my party stated the rates of growth would be lower than what the outgoing Government and the Opposition parties believed. We were saying the good times would come to an end soon and that we needed additional taxation receipts. I have not heard anyone contribute in the political debate on these issues. After the first budget of the current...

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: I refer to stamp duty, in particular. The Senator's party was arguing passionately that action had to be taken to keep prices in the housing market high.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: That view was articulated in this Chamber.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: What we have heard is a reinvention of history to justify the particular circumstances in which the main Opposition party finds itself. We have entered Alice in Wonderland politics by the moving of this confidence motion. This is where words mean what the Opposition wants them to mean.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: The reality is that Fine Gael is the least well positioned political party to make this argument on this occasion.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: The whole point of a confidence motion is not only to underline whether the Government has the competence to continue in office but also whether the Opposition has the credentials to create an alternative Government. On these grounds——

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: Events in recent days have shown the latter is patently not the case.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: Fine Gael is as far from comprising an alternative Government as it ever was.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: In 2007 my party entered government with the consent of its members. It did so on the basis of a programme for Government we considered we could implement. Economic circumstances, informed by the events of 2002 to 2007, were such that some options were not available. We had choices as a political party and still do. We could walk away or decide to make the right decisions. Ours will be...

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: It is a coalition Government comprising parties with different traditions, histories, cultures and ways of doing things.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: However, I would prefer to be in these circumstances, having to make these decisions and face the responsibility that goes with government, than the alternative of trying to score cheap points to engender in the public a false reality of where we are and where we need to be——

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: ——or to end up with a country with all the indicators we are trying to reverse. We are succeeding in many respects, in terms of retail sales, consumer confidence and stemming unemployment. The right decisions are starting to have an effect. When one considers not only how this crisis has affected this country but how politics in all countries have been affected, I defy the Opposition to...

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: ——in the current set of economic conditions. Last week there was a general election in the Netherlands. The leading political party in the government lost its place as the leading party, coming fifth after the election.

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: There is no country in the western world with the type of economy we have where the government is in any way popular. I will leave the Opposition with the following thought. It is thankful that it cannot win the vote of confidence tonight because it would be its worst nightmare. It does not want to be in government or to make these decisions. It does not want to risk the type of...

Seanad: Confidence in the Taoiseach: Motion (16 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: ——it so easily gained from not having to do anything.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: The House would be served well by having a debate on the draft terms of reference for the commission of inquiry into the banking crisis. The Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service has received the draft terms of reference. Some Members of this House are members of that committee. A wider debate would help. However, I caution against the belief that all the questions can be...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: These are the figures we must keep in mind.

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Jun 2010)

Dan Boyle: It is a simple mathematical sum involving selling one's assets, paying off one's debtors and how much it will cost the State. It is a simple balance sheet exercise.