Results 901-920 of 996 for speaker:John Gerard Hanafin

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: I support the calls made last week from the Opposition benches for constructive co-operation with the Government.

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: It seems to me that Senator Bradford, who made the suggestion, has a certain self-confidence and belief that his party will be in Government some day because he wants to do what is right for Ireland. We have gone way past indignation. We need to deal with the difficulties we face.

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: We are not bankrupt.

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: Let us-----

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: If I might have the opportunity to say what I want to say?

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: If I might have the opportunity to say what I want to say, the difficulties we face have been misrepresented on the radio and television and in the newspapers. We faced much worse difficulties in the 1980s, and after the 1980s we had a long and sustained boom from 1994 to 2007 which brought the country significant growth and opportunities. We are facing difficulties that are manageable but...

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: No.

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: They should change their name to "Indignation Hour" because all they are looking for is something else. There is no balance.

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: There is no balance at present.

Seanad: Order of Business. (6 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: Even on the way to the Chamber today, I heard it reported in all seriousness that the price of Irish bond yields had reduced from 6.43% to 6.4%. We are not on a variable rate. We do not have to accept any particular price. We buy the bonds at the price at the time. The Government has made clear that we are not in the market for bonds until the middle of next year so why is this nonsense...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: In the light of what happened in Hungary this week, will the Leader ask the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to attend the House for a debate on tailing pond storage? Toxic waste from a tailing pond has now entered a tributary of the River Danube. Looking at the amount and colour of the toxic sludge on television reports, the environmental damage and the number of...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: It was in this House that I learned about the candidate for the Louisiana state governorship who, having won the election, was asked by one of the people who reported on it how he managed to get elected. He said his philosophy was: don't tax you, don't tax me, tax the guy behind the tree. In a perfect world no one would need to be taxed but by the very next election that governor was out of...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: I ask the Leader to arrange a debate on the retail sector as part of the ongoing debate on the budget. Those commentators who are talking down the economy are doing it harm. The sooner we receive a direction on budgetary strategy, the better for the retail sector which is a major employer in the economy. As part of that process I suggest we examine DIRT on savings which should be payable...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: Occasionally we get the opportunity to debate different issues and it is interesting that we got some clarification last week as a result of those debates. Sr. Mary MacKillop was in her day excommunicated because members of her order reported on child sex abuse and last week she was made Australia's first saint. There is no clearer indication from the Vatican as to where it stands on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: I support calls for debates on employment, as I am particularly cognisant that the House could play a unique role in this regard. We see today that the United Kingdom is taking the route we took two years ago, proving again that the downturn is largely global and affects all countries, not only Ireland. There are circumstances in which taxation becomes so regressive that it does not make...

Seanad: Announcement on Banking by the Minister for Finance: Statements (20 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: The first factor to be welcomed from the statement of the Minister for Finance on banking on 30 September is that we have a clear scenario within which we can work. We have figures for the final cost to the taxpayer of the banking crisis. I am cognisant that although the bill will be much higher than initially anticipated, given that we had the lowest debt to GDP anywhere in Europe at €30...

Seanad: Announcement on Banking by the Minister for Finance: Statements (20 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: That was quick.

Seanad: Announcement on Banking by the Minister for Finance: Statements (20 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: The certainty which has been given by the statement of the Minister of State means that we can now go forward with a clear plan of what we need to do. I hope we will do it collectively and, in that light, the actions the Government has taken to date, some of which were unpalatable, were needed. We took action in time. If we continue on this road, we will be on the road to recovery quite...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: First, I agree with previous speakers who spoke on the issue of child abuse and the lack of care and dereliction of duty. There is no question that as public representatives our message to the public officials is clear. They should do their duty without fear or favour and without consideration of any care other than that which has been entrusted to them. In the case of child care, it is...

Seanad: Macro-Economic and Fiscal Outlook: Statements (28 Oct 2010)

John Gerard Hanafin: In supporting the Government's policies I am cognisant that in 1986 we had a budget deficit of 13%. Some elements of the media keep pressing the issue to the effect that we will not be able to manage our finances, and nothing could be further from the truth. Historically, we were in much more difficult situations in the 1980s, where today only 17% of Government income goes on servicing the...