Results 501-520 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: One of the problems in putting legislation together is that one can either go through the detail and prescribe as much as possible or else leave it to the authority. I agree with the clear and relevant points made by Senator McDowell. I know it to be the intention of the supervisory authority unanimously to follow the procedure outlined by Senator McDowell â in other words, it should always...
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: While the public might be interested in the auditor's private life, it would not be in the public interest. That is what it boils down to.
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: This section goes to the core of the issue. Listening to Senator Quinn one cannot but have sympathy for some of the points he has raised. I note the Minister of State has responded to a number of the issues raised by the Senator on Second Stage. I remind the House of how this issue arose. It came from both Houses, the establishment of the tribunal and the report to the Committee of Public...
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: I am talking about the issue of the private family company. The issues raised by Senator Quinn are serious. Attempts have been made to do something in that regard but no doubt not enough from his point of view. Unfortunately, one of the reasons this arose is the various meetings between a family supermarket â certainly not Senator Quinn's â and a former Taoiseach. This was one of the...
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: It would be incorrect to present this as a knee-jerk reaction. I gave one example. I remind the House that the Legislature and everyone in both Houses were criticised by commentators, the public and everyone involved in the tribunals over the reason that and other such cases could have happened. That led to a huge inquiry, which produced two tomes, by the Committee of Public Accounts. It went...
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: I cannot allow the one company issue go. The point of the discussion was that people said was it not for an unfortunate incident in Florida, we would never have realised that this could be happening in Ireland. There is no way of knowing whether it happened previously. The Committee of Public Accounts responded that the Oireachtas had a duty to ensure legislation was put in place to make sure...
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: Speakers have raised some very relevant issues. Senator Maurice Hayes has probably pinpointed what the legislation is trying to achieve and what it is trying not to do. Perhaps it would be easier if the Bill indicated in more precise terms what was required of the directors in a checklist format. Over the past two years the accountancy bodies have consistently advised that it should not be...
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: I hope the Labour Party can do better.
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: I am happy to continue the discussion on this issue. I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I ask him to consider the following reasons for bringing this issue forward. Last year more than 50,000 new houses were sold in this country. At an average price of â¬200,000 each that represents â¬10 billion spent on new houses alone. If one includes the second-hand market one can, at...
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: And trade union leaders.
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: Who can argue?
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: I do not accept that. The rules must state the bids are final and no further auction will take place.
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: One cannot have the auctioneer come inâ
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: We have a better man altogether.
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: I thank all those who contributed to the debate. Senator Scanlon referred to the need for competition and I welcome his agreement regarding the presence of a disinterested individual at the opening of bids. I wrote the motion and reread it to ensure it did not give the impression that auctioneers were dishonest or otherwise. I made changes to the wording to achieve that and I am sorry that...
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: In no contribution did I hear anything that would go against this. Certainly, those who declared an interest as being auctioneers were very open and welcoming about how the issue might be approached. I would like to do it in this way and be supportive. I will be prepared to accept the amendment if the Minister of State can assure me those carrying out the review will include more than...
- Seanad: Auctioneering Profession: Motion. (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: In that case I accept the amendment. I thank the Minister of State and his advisers for being so open and positive. It represents a good night's work. Amendment agreed to. Motion, as amended, agreed to.
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: We are at the core of the issue, which is, to decide the role of company directors. It is a much broader discussion than perhaps what is contained in the Bill. Senators Coghlan, Quinn and Maurice Hayes have made this point. While I agree with the general approach they have taken, I wish to raise substantial points. Directors must be responsible for compliance. There is no getting away from...
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: I thought he did so very badly.
- Seanad: Companies (Auditing and Accounting) Bill 2003: Committee Stage (Resumed). (28 May 2003)
Joe O'Toole: He had not read the Bill.