Results 4,121-4,140 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I do not believe that to be the case.

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: People have to make the best judgment as they go along. The reality is that if we let the bank die, it will have an impact on funds and savings, on our international reputation and on the cost of future borrowing. These are real things. I may well be wrong about it, but I can understand the Government's position. I will support the Government's position, with extraordinary reluctance, for...

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Before Senators get too enthusiastic, I remind them that all parties have been in government since then. Many of us, including the Leader, have worked to reduce the cost of insurance. Why has nobody stopped this 2% levy?

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: The reality is the cost of the black hole caused by the collapse of PMPA has been well paid for. Questions have to be asked about why we are still paying the levy.

Seanad: Order of Business. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Yes.

Seanad: Lost at Scheme: Motion. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: That is right.

Seanad: Lost at Scheme: Motion. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State and wish him well in his Ministry. I have no doubt he will make a significant input to it. I have been involved with this legislation since it was presented as a Bill and have seen it changed time and again. My interest in the issue is not driven by the actual events as much as by the way we are processing the matter. The Government amendment is the most...

Seanad: Lost at Scheme: Motion. (31 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I acknowledge that it is a matter for the Houses of the Oireachtas and their committees to order their business, but we send them stuff every week. Nothing has more of a precedent than what is being proposed. I will not get involved in the politics of the matter. When it was last debated in the Chamber, there was, equally, no mention of politics. It is not an issue for me whether someone...

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I notice the media have jumped on the fact the public service pay deal is a bad one and will be rejected by the members. That is the news story of the day and the way it is being played. It is important to recognise that at a time when the economy is on its knees for whatever reason, and we have discussed this many times, and when there is pressure on every public service, there is no...

Seanad: Order of Business. (1 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Insurance Industry: Statements (1 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I thank Senator Donohoe for allowing me to speak ahead of him. I declare an interest in that I was very involved in the drafting of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board legislation and in its passage through the House. I am currently the vice chair of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. I was also very active on the joint committee which inquired into insurance a couple of years ago....

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I support the points made by Senator Fitzgerald. It surely is the case that there are specific issues which are driving ordinary people berserk, including the Fingleton million and the €1 million plus bonus paid to the chief executive officer of Bank of Ireland. I want to put on the record of this House and people should know that the Government has explained this by saying it was...

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: We need to consider this. The German Government financial regulation authority has also begun an investigation of the same issue. It appears to me that this is a classical example of the two-handed approach coming from some of the banks who simply played ordinary punters like violins and took money from them time and again. I would like if a Member of Government could come to the House and...

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Do not criticise the Government again.

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, I do not wish to cause a row but this is unfair. If we knew there were to be tributes to the former Senator, we would be able to speak on this and a procedure exists for it. I know he was a special friend of the Leader but we all worked with him as well and it looks awkward if one person speaks and no one else speaks.

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: The point that there is a real need to discuss this has been well made by Senator Fitzgerald. Apart from the Government's role in this, which I will leave to the Opposition parties to discuss, there is the question of ethics in banking. Today's editorial in The Irish Times deals with the Goldman Sachs affair. It is important to see where we stand in this situation. Goldman Sachs...

Seanad: Female Genital Mutilation Bill 2010: Second Stage (21 Apr 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.