Results 5,541-5,560 of 21,514 for speaker:Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin

Official Engagements. (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: No.

Official Engagements. (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: No. We want to secure agreement in the interests of the Irish people and the broad electorate.

Official Engagements. (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: That is not the way that was presented.

Official Engagements. (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The only one trying to paint that picture is the Taoiseach.

Official Engagements. (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: It is our duty and responsibility to point out to the electorate the deficiencies contained in that which the Taoiseach and other parties in this House have been promoting for so long. We will continue to inform them truthfully.

Order of Business (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Tomorrow's Order Paper will inform us of the Government's intentions regarding the recess over Christmas. As the Taoiseach is present today can he bring the Order Paper forward and advise the House as to what it will reflect tomorrow? Yesterday, in my case, but other voices again this morning have reflected on the serious situation that now stands in the offing in regard to the health...

Order of Business (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: I would like clarification on No. 12 before agreeing to proposal No. 5 on the Order Paper, which refers specifically that leave be given by the Dáil to introduce Supplementary Estimates relating to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. I would like confirmation that this is in the context of the recent crisis in the pork and bacon industry. Will the Taoiseach clarify, in the...

Order of Business (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: It is most unusual that a matter of this importance would be met in the House with such heckling and interference. This is a hugely important issue with regard to the principle of the acceptance of farmers throughout the island of Ireland as Irish producers and the Government's responsibility to compensate without discrimination based on geographic location. Can we please have clarification...

Order of Business (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: On the same issue, given the schedule for tomorrow, it is within the Government's compass to accommodate what is being sought by Opposition voices here this morning. We need additional time to address the critical issue of the proposed recapitalisation of the banks. We need the opportunity to quiz the Minister. Some 20 minutes is not sufficient, as we have had examples of this and will...

Order of Business (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Tá sé thuas i Lapland.

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: It is interesting to note how difficult some colleagues find it to accept that everyone will not always agree with them. Throughout the Lisbon referendum campaign Sinn Féin argued that a better deal was possible. We argued that the Irish people's concerns on workers' rights, public services, neutrality, democracy, tax sovereignty and international trade were valid and had to be addressed....

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The problem is that the Government has agreed to hold a second referendum without putting the detail into the public domain, but why? The answer is that the Government does not have it, and it is telling us that it will not have it until later in 2009. How therefore does the Government know it will in any way resolve the substantive concerns that led people to vote "No" in June?...

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: The same is true with regard to "the responsibility of member states for the delivery of education and health services". The conclusions also refer to: . . . the essential role and wide discretion of national, regional and local governments in providing, commissioning and organising non-economic services of general interest, which is not affected by any provision of the Treaty of Lisbon,...

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: All in all, the Council conclusions appear to be an exercise in smoke and mirrors. They do not provide credible guarantees where they are needed. They divert attention away from many of the real reasons for the "No" vote. They fail to deliver positive reasons for voting in favour of the Lisbon treaty. They attempt to confuse a number of issues in order to give full reign to fear and...

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: It has been in evidence over the past six months.

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: When one interrupts and heckles, one has already lost.

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: It shows a complete lack of respect——

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: ——for both the democratic institutions of the State and the democratic will of the people. That is what it amounts to. The Taoiseach can make all the mocking sounds he likes as to the irony of my saying this, but——

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: ——I point it out to him, nevertheless. However uncomfortable it makes him, it is his problem, not mine.

European Council Meeting: Statements (17 Dec 2008)

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin: Rerunning the referendum on the Lisbon treaty, albeit one that will not be altered by one iota, would be a denial of democracy. It is no different from a defeated Government rerunning a general election in the hope that the people will change their minds. We have often wished it, but we know that it is never an option. If the Taoiseach proceeds with his intention to put the same treaty to...