Results 8,441-8,460 of 21,498 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: The Minister talked about decreases in public expenditure. They are known in common parlance as cuts and, despite what he might say, they have happened in health, welfare and education. It is the Government's position, which the Minister echoed in his script earlier, that there are additional resources and moneys to be invested. It is fair enough if the Minister regards Deputy Sean Fleming...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: He said he can kind of tip along, but that is it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: No, I am asking whether, when the Minister presents a document such as this - clearly a great deal of work and thought has gone into it - he should produce figures in the abstract, or whether he should produce figures that take account of the fact that, for instance, there is a crisis in accident and emergency departments across the State. I also noted that, on the welfare resource...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Does the Minister know the problem with that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Let me outline the problem with that. I refer again to the problem in the accident and emergency Departments. The Department of Health and the HSE required a specific amount of resources to sort the problem.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Yes. It got a quarter of it what is requested.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Was that not true?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Is the Minister saying the €100 million was never requested?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Why? Was the €25 million given in a lump sum?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: So there was never a request for €100 million?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: If I am not mistaken senior staff from the HSE asserted in the public domain that they had asked for in the region of €100 million.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: I am sure I am running out of time. I have one other issue to raise.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: My next question is on the EU budgetary rules, specifically the expenditure benchmark. I raised this with the Minister during Question Time recently. I have both a question and concern to raise. My concern is that a further restriction is being placed on the room for manoeuvre of the State and any Government in respect of its expenditure decisions. My question arises because there seems...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Comprehensive Expenditure Report 2015-2017: Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (28 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Will the information for 2011 be circulated?

Redress for Women Resident in Certain Institutions Bill 2014: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: The Minister has helpfully reminded us that over 10,000 women spent time in Magdalen laundries since the founding of the State. Approximately half of them served more than three years, not always but often following referral by State agencies – from industrial and reform schools, health and social services, county homes and psychiatric hospitals to the criminal justice system,...

Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: The difficulty arising from the questions put by Deputy Cowen is that everybody can see that the Government's handling of this unfair water tax has been shambolic. It also emphasised again the fact that the Government has been less than fully frank with people or with Members of the Dáil when dealing with these issues. Before Christmas, the Tánaiste's colleague, the Minister for...

Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----and all of that sophisticated paper pushing that she engages in-----

Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: It strikes me that the Department could have had those matters considered, analysed and costed when the debate was under way so that the Minister would not give misleading figures to the Dáil.

Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: Perhaps the Tánaiste might make an attempt at answering this time. Was she aware of that letter and had she a hand in its content? More to the point, what will be the full and final cost? We have an entitlement to know that.

Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2015)

Mary Lou McDonald: This relates to another loose end and legislation that the Minister, Deputy Alan Kelly, proposes to introduce in the near future. We all await the water services Bill 2015 with bated breath. In reply to a question from my colleague, Deputy Brian Stanley, the Minister has indicated that this Bill will, in the main, make provision for addressing any unpaid water bills relating to domestic...