Results 3,881-3,900 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State and I also welcome the legislation, which I support enthusiastically. I was a member of the first Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and I am a member of the Irish Audit and Accounting Supervisory Authority. I would like to raise a number of issues which I hope the Minister of State will take on board. I concur with Senator Ó Murchú's remarks. The...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: That applies to every semi-State body and for a lesser amount.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: It is not.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Perhaps I was misinterpreted. I did not say "either-or"; I said "also".

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I draw the attention of the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs to a provision in the Bill which is very relevant to ongoing events. Section 2 states: "the office of the public service that is staffed by civil servants of the State" and section 8 provides that any civil servant transferred to the Houses of the Oireachtas becomes a civil servant of the State. I accept this...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: A number of speakers on Second Stage asked about the running of the Houses. We could have approached this issue in two ways. Most other parliaments have introduced commissions which divide immediately into two parts. One part deals with the matters provided for in this Bill and the other does the work currently done by the Committees on Procedure and Privileges. I guarantee that the...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: One is reminded of religious superiors.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Senator Twomey has proposed a reasonable amendment but it will be impossible to implement because the Dáil, Seanad and commission have separate codes of conduct. If somebody breaches a provision which is common to the three codes, who will respond? This is a mess. The amendment is well advised in not prescribing punitive action because that would be constitutionally prohibited. However,...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 1: In page 7, subsection (7), line 6, after "Commission." to insert the following: "The Secretary General and Head of Finance may attend meetings though not as members of the committee.". I would really like the Minister of State to take on board the issue covered by these amendments. When I was a member of the Commission I was given the On Board document, entitled A...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: That is the point I am making. The committee is only there to advise the Secretary General and to report to the board. That is a serious flaw. Can we imagine a situation where an audit report would only be sent to the chief executive of a company? I could not envisage a situation where it did not go to the chairman of the board. That jumped off the page when I read the Bill, because I...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: The board of AIB actually does not have such a committee. None of the banks has such a committee.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I want to clarify a number of points. First, the documents I referenced were State body documents which had nothing to do with the private sector.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: That code of practice for the governance of State bodes has been issued to every State body. I presume no one is suggesting the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission is not a State body of some description. It is clear a distinction is being made between the role of the Accounting Officer and the board's general responsibilities. Let me give an example in regard to what the Minister of State...

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: To conclude, the advice from the Minister of State's Department is incorrect in that it states the chief executive and head of finance should attend all committee meetings. There is no other conclusion to be drawn from it. I do not argue about the difference between advising and reporting, which I accept. All I am saying is the advice should also be available for the chairman. I will not...

Seanad: Report by Commission of Investigation into Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin: Statements (3 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews. This is a troublesome issue, as any of us who spent the weekend, or part of it, reading this sickening report knows. I record my appreciation of the work Judge Yvonne Murphy has done on the matter. I know her personally and I am not surprised by her clear, direct and focused approach to the issue. The report was written in a way that...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I ask the Leader to make time for the Minister for Foreign Affairs to come to the House to discuss the issue of the European Union's position in its free trade negotiations with Colombia. I have discussed this with the Minister, Deputy Martin, and believe he is concerned about it. It is heartening to know that all 12 Irish MEPs have signed a petition asking for the suspension of the free...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: What he thinks about it.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Absolutely.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (4 Dec 2009)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 1: In page 7, line 6, after "Commission." to insert the following: "The Secretary General and Head of Finance may attend meetings though not as members of the committee". I welcome the Minister of State to the House. Yesterday, there was a long and convoluted discussion on matters related to the establishment of the audit committee of the Houses of the Oireachtas...