Results 4,341-4,360 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Chemicals (Amendment) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State and the legislation which I consider to be progressive, forward thinking and extraordinarily necessary. I take issue with some of the views expressed to the effect that the legislation might present a difficulty for producers or industry. People, especially politicians, should recognise that the chemicals industry employs almost 30,000 people. The Minister...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: The issues we raised yesterday about the best decisions for Europe and for Ireland are finally coming into focus and the reality is that this is a European issue and a bank issue in this country. We need to understand those things and to decide on the best way forward. I do not know the answers and I do not know the positions of any of the parties. I do not know the Government position on...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: In terms of impact, the real issue during the past 24 hours, when money is always a serious difficulty and we will always be overwhelmed by the economic problems with which we have to cope, were the stories that emerged from Cork and Limerick yesterday. They gave us an injection of reality and were shock treatment. Surely it should put in perspective that our focus should always be on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: We can learn from the issues arising from those horrific, tragic and appalling events. There is the question of mental health and how we deal with it in this country. If one ties those stories together with the series on suicide running in The Irish Times, we have to ask ourselves where we are going in terms of our mental health and what provisions we are putting in place to deal with...

Seanad: Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (17 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Let me raise one technical matter, something which always upsets me on these occasions. I note that on the television monitors the late Senator is referred to as Mr. Kieran Phelan. This happens every time there are tributes. To us, Kieran is still a senatorial colleague and will always remain so.

Seanad: Death of Member: Expressions of Sympathy (17 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I have asked about this before and ask that it be corrected on future occasions. It is important because we are speaking about our late colleague. We will miss Kieran's good humour and warm personality. We can only imagine how his death impacts on his family and friends. I speak on behalf of my colleagues on the Independent benches, on whose behalf I extend our deepest condolences. We...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I am heartened to hear the words of Senator Fitzgerald. At a time of economic, civic and political turmoil and instability, we are standing on the edge of a financial abyss. I agree with the Taoiseach's point of view that we need to pass a budget, publish a four-year plan and get through the wedge of financial activity that must be engaged in in the next two months. It is a lot to ask of...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: People say that we should not play the blame game but it must be played to learn from it. The Honohan report on banking outlined the level of responsibility the Government should take. It is not 100% and that balance needs to be reflected in the debate.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Mistakes were made and Professor Honohan has given a view on it. It is quite clear that passing the budget on 7 December is a crucial part of the timeline of the budget and what is required in dealing with the IMF and Europe. The Opposition parties have accepted that aspect of it. It is also important to recognise that the IMF and our European partners do not have exactly the same level of...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: This is an important document at which we must look in a level-headed way and to which we should try to take a balanced approach. I congratulate the Minister of State for what he said, that he wanted to hear from Members and that extra time had been provided for a response. I have no doubt he will return to this later. After we finish discussing this, it is important we have another day's...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: The points I am making are important to the people on the ground. Public servants believe they are being hammered in all sorts of ways by every commentator. When debating the health service, people discuss the significant administrative burden. Senator MacSharry is a good example and I tend to agree with him. However, every time someone makes that point, he or she should also consider...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I could speak about special needs assistants, school secretaries and so on. They are important, but no one would deny that school secretarial and caretaker staff give bang for their buck. I wish to make two more points about education. I am sorry about the reduction in the capitation grant for primary schools, although I can see from where it is coming. The amount is not being taken from...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: The issue raised by Fine Gael is one I have raised before. We should be aware of this and it should discussed here next week in the Croke Park agreement debate. There are 32 local authorities replicating each others' work in grant applications and college fees. There are then 32 different places sending cheques to different colleges. The students then go to the college authorities, prove...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Statements (25 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Never.

Seanad: Renewable Energy: Statements (25 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State. He and I soldiered together on the Joint Committee on Climate Change and Energy Security for some time. The committee still has not made any progress with this recalcitrant Government which refuses to accept the two legislative measures the Minister of State and I struggled hard to draft. Perhaps he will outline our current position with regard to climate...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I congratulate former Senator Pearse Doherty on his election. It is important that the House does so. Perhaps it would be better to avoid mentioning that the main Government party came third in the by-election. In light of comments made in the House last week, including by Senator Paul Bradford, I congratulate the ICTU on organising an effective, responsible and civic-minded demonstration...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, I wish to object on two grounds. First, a Senator is required to declare a conflict of interest when making these kinds of points. Second, this is a matter before the courts. I would be very happy to discuss it otherwise. Raising it here is completely out of order. This is an example of riding roughshod over the rules of the House.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (30 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Will we have it by Thursday?

Seanad: North-South Co-operation on Sex Offenders: Statements (30 Nov 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Barry Andrews, and acknowledge the good work he has done in this area since his appointment. However, I do not share the same kind of enthusiasm expressed by certain other groups in respect of the matters to which he refers. My great hope for the British-Irish Agreement and the commitment to shadow legislation was that the area which we are discussing...