Results 1,421-1,440 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 11: In page 9, before section 7, to insert the following new section: "7.—Section 13(1) of the Principal Act is amended by the insertion after 'elsewhere' of 'or in the case of a child where requested by a school'." This amendment provides for a regular occurrence of when a parent is sent for when his or her child has an accident at school. It is an absolute case of...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: How?

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: That is not critical.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: One might look for parental leave and not have a child at all if one were being that crooked about it.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: That is a fair point and I thank the Minister of State for clarifying it. I was not aware of that. I fully accept the point made and I am glad the Minister of State is not as resistant to change in this matter as Senator Kett. I hope people will not take advantage of this position. It is important to have the point on the record.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 15: In page 9, before section 7, to insert the following new section: "7.—Section 13 of the Principal Act is amended by the addition of the following paragraph after subsection (2)(f): (g) persons involved in a same sex relationship who act in the role of parent of the child.". Senator Norris and I have worked together on this and he asked me to propose this amendment...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I thank the Minister for that outline. I was particularly interested in the last part. Section 13(2)(f) of the 1998 Act allows the Minister to specify other groups. Under that section, there would have to be an order or statutory instrument to allow force majeure leave to be available to same sex couples. Can the Minister confirm that he is prepared to recommend that to the Government? Is...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Yes.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I certainly appreciate the points the Minister is making and his advisers' efforts to bring all this together. The importance of the outstanding issue that can be addressed under section 13(2)(f) is as follows. Let us take an elderly couple in a same sex relationship, sexual or otherwise, who have lived together for years. It may be a gay or lesbian relationship, or they may be sharing for...

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Where is the charge?

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: If a child has a schoolyard accident, perhaps involving a broken limb, and a parent is called and goes to the school or has to be away for less than half a day, it should not count as a day's pay. This is a charge on the worker.

Seanad: Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (9 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: That is a most unfair ruling.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: When the Leas-Chathaoirleach took the Chair this morning, I thought that in breach of long-established tradition he nodded to the Government benches before he nodded to the Opposition benches.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Will the Leas-Chathaoirleach indicate if there is any particular significance in that?

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Seeing as the matter was first raised in this House, we should note the copious apology from Kevin Myers in today's edition of The Irish Times. The matter is dealt with now. It is over and we should accept the apology in the spirit in which it was offered. I am sure both Mr. Ed. Walsh and Mr. Kevin Myers would be very pleased to see from this morning's news that two high-profile single...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: ——thus bringing two single-parent families together. I am sure we will wish them well.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I am sure the House would like to bring that matter to the attention of Mr. Ed. Walsh and Mr. Kevin Myers.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I thought there might be some appreciation of the importance of that particular event from the——

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: ——republican party benches, those who at one stage wanted us to rejoin the Commonwealth.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: The question was raised yesterday with the Leader about the importance of having another transport debate. I am sure she will confirm that prior to Christmas we decided to have two debates on transport; one on transport in the Dublin area, which we had and the other on transport issues elsewhere in the country. We should have that as soon as possible. A report was carried out on the Dunboyne...