Results 941-960 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: We will let the people decide, once they have had an opportunity to consider the position. It is an insult to the electorate that the Government cannot get its figures right and that its calculations were out by over â¬2 billion in each of the past three years.
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: As the Minister of State is interrupting, I have no choice but to respond. However, I will address my remarks through the Chair.
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The level of growth in the economy during the past three years was approximately â¬15 billion. The economist Dan McLaughlin has stated that those between the ages of 30 and 40 years are most in debt. They comprise the Celtic tiger generation. For all the pious and patronising remarks made about the people of that generation, it is remarkable that the Government does not see fit to appoint...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Minister of State should grow up. We all contributed to the improvements that have come about in that regard. Never before have parents had so little time to spend with their children and the Government has done little to remedy the situation. Never before have they been obliged to endure long waiting times in hospitals with their sick children and the Government has failed to act....
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Celtic tiger generation has received an extremely raw deal from the Government which is not prepared to accept that it has failed to deliver in respect of hugely important quality-of-life issues. It has continually preached about the booming economy but failed to deal with the obstacles it has placed in the way of members of the Celtic tiger generation. Many people of my age and younger...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: There is serious concern about what is happening. The Minister can dismiss it, since he is quite comfortable with his wage and pension. Many people worry about their personal debt, however. The problem should also be of concern to the Government if it wishes to remain in power after the next general election. The Celtic tiger generation has been borrowing between â¬15 billion and â¬20...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Minister of State should be very careful that he does not mislead the people with such talk.
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Government has encouraged them.
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: Most of the money borrowed in this country in the last five or six years has gone on mortgages because a combination of factors has pushed house prices out of control.
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Minister of State should be careful as most of the money is going on mortgages. It was cheap access to money that allowed people to buy such houses, but now house prices have levelled, and interest rates are rising. It might not affect the Minister of State if he has plenty to spend. However, in the new year, following the European Central Bank's decision to raise interest rates,...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: That is why we require a sensible debate on this matter; interest rates are heading back up again. Young people today, who are already feeling the pinch from their very large mortgages, will see their repayments growing month on month for the next year. We must focus on those people, whom the Government failed to protect in yesterday's budget. The crisis is far greater than the Government...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The situation approaches crisis, but the Government is not prepared to accept that. The Minister of State should issue a public health warning to people that when they receive their SSIA cheques, they should put them against their personal borrowings rather than get carried away with the Government's idea that there is somehow a free flow and that everything is absolutely perfect. One must...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Minister of State is rather confrontational on this issue, and that may reflect his nature. However, he will be retiring from this House next summer, and his pension will not be as good as that of the Minister who worked alongside him, who will probably receive between â¬2,000 and â¬3,000 a week. The Minister of State has told elderly people in Laois and Offaly that they should kneel...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Minister of State has not considered the cost of living issues affecting many such people. The sum of â¬208 is cold comfort to most people in 2007. It is not as fantastic as the Minister of State claims. Inflation has far outstripped expectations over the past five years. If the Government were truly caring and generous, it might even have gone so far as to make the fuel allowance...
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: Collusion is when facts are kept from the people, and Ministers knew what was happening in Leas Cross.
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Minister often seeks such protection rather than doing his jobââ
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: ââand admitting there is a problem.
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Minister of State understands exactly what I am talking about, having admitted as much. The Government has failed to meet its promises. It cannot even take direction from the Supreme Court to arrange repayments to those elderly people whom it effectively robbed. Some â¬400 million was put aside in last year's budget to make those repayments, but it managed to repay only â¬80 million....
- Financial Resolution No. 6: General (Resumed) (7 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: I apologise; it was on Tuesday night, on the Health (Nursing Homes) (Amendment) Bill 2006. The establishment of 100 primary care teams was announced in last year's budget, and this year the Government has trawled through the matter and announced it again. The Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney, has announced that she will set up an extra 100 teams. To the best of my knowledge,...
- Leaders' Questions (12 Dec 2006)
Liam Twomey: The Government is freezing the contribution.