Results 1,481-1,500 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Nursing Home Charges: Statements. (23 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I wish the Tánaiste well with her difficult brief. I appreciate that she had the courage to say recently that she would not stand over the statement she made previously to the House. I admire it when politicians admit when they get something wrong and correct the record. That is as it should be; it is no big deal. On a previous occasion I made an appeal that this matter not become a party...

Seanad: Nursing Home Charges: Statements. (23 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: That is the issue. The common good must also be there to balance the provision on private property. We have seen what has happened with housing. Developers can afford to buy huge tracts of land and release them in dribs and drabs for development, with the consequence of corrupting the law of supply and demand by reducing supply and increasing prices. That is not in the common good and I...

Seanad: Employment Policy: Motion. (23 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I had great difficulty in deciding whether to vote for the motion or the amendment. If I have to vote for one, I think the motion is slightly better than the amendment. We need to examine a number of issues. The Minister spoke at length about research and development but if he was in his previous job and examined the OECD report on third-level education, he would have seen that in recent...

Seanad: Employment Policy: Motion. (23 Feb 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I did not hear it later. It was aimed at people in the business community who get up early. It came on again just before the business news on RTE. That is how far behind the times we are. It is that easy. Somebody needs to be kicked around on that one. That is a seriously important issue that we must examine. I appeal to my Fine Gael colleagues in regard to one issue. We should look carefully...

Seanad: Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I ask the House to note and acknowledge the extraordinary, comprehensive and visionary description by Dr. Paisley of the situation in the North. The House should note he has ensured we all recognise that doors are not closed and that progress can be made. The discussion with the McCartney family over the past fortnight was a most hopeful, perhaps the most hopeful, optimistic and encouraging...

Seanad: Waste Management: Statements. (2 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Roche, to the House and look forward to his summing up. Over the years, this has been the most divisive issue discussed in the House. When debating waste management, we must acknowledge that we, as a people, are dirty and do not have a culture of looking after our waste properly. Three years ago, while on...

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I ask the House to welcome the Government's indication yesterday that it intends to support what it calls the "western rail corridor", which is referred to by Senators as the "Sligo-Waterford-Rosslare line". I have raised this issue in the House at least three times a year for the past 15 years. The House would appreciate an opportunity to discuss the matter with the Minister for Transport,...

Seanad: Order of Business. (8 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Given what we often discussed and the points made in the House during the debate on Seanad reform, it would be wrong to ignore the Travers report this week. We should debate it tonight after taking the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill or tomorrow morning. We have space to deal with it at either time and I would like to hear the Leader's view on this. Today's business can proceed as planned...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Is that the Travers report?

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, normally a referral motion is taken without debate on the basis that the subject matter will not be discussed in the House. Is the Leader saying it will be discussed in the House as well as being referred to the committee?

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I made the point yesterday on the Order of Business that I felt the current arrangements in primary schools whereby untrained personnel have responsibility for the so-called "teaching" of children is another pot waiting to boil over on the Government. It could certainly lead to a class action on the part of parents seeking to question the Government ignoring the constitutional imperative...

Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: It is crucially important to record the further comment of the McCartney family today that they sought justice rather than revenge. That is so articulately expressed that it puts in context the importance of justice in a democracy.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2005: Second Stage (Resumed). (9 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I would like to make a brief intervention on the Bill. I have spoken over the past week or so with a number of different groups that have concerns about some of the elements in it. I do not oppose the levying of some form of payment; there should be some form of payment where people can afford it. I am clear on the Supreme Court's reflection on this fact. The court did not object to the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I thank the Leader for arranging statements on the Travers report first thing this morning. It is very much appreciated on this side of the House. I also believe other Members will want to participate in that debate, which I will be happy to start immediately after the Order of Business. If no other Member wants to speak, I will be happy to do so.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Yes, if the Minister is not available. People want to record their views on the matter, not talk to the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: Then we should just begin the debate and take our turn. The problem arises when people want everything.

Seanad: Order of Business. (10 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: It is a little like ATMs, yes. One lines up and does one's business. The issue of suicide, the reasons for it and the way we should address the problem have been discussed in the House on many occasions but it is a subject on which we have very little in terms of facts. I would like to have a further discussion on the problem, particularly the connection between suicide and alcohol...

Seanad: Report on Long-Stay Care Charges: Statements. (10 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: It is with some regret that these discussions become party political issues. Senator Browne is correct in that many people from both sides of the House over the past 17 years have called for the heads of Ministers. I have asked on at least ten occasions in that time for a full debate on the Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924, as amended in 1995, to establish what is meant by the "Accounting...

Seanad: Report on Long-Stay Care Charges: Statements. (10 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: The Travers report is absolutely clear. I have read it three times and do not doubt its accuracy. In 1975 and 1976, the then Minister for Health, Brendan Corish, was a member of the Labour Party but this could have happened to anyone. His Department's legal officer gave him advice to the effect that the charge was not legal. In the officer's words, the charges would require a legal amendment...

Seanad: Report on Long-Stay Care Charges: Statements. (10 Mar 2005)

Joe O'Toole: I want this to be clear on the record. That member understood it to be the particular folder in question, although how he read through the cover is unknown. Whether he is right or wrong, everyone accepts that there is no record anywhere of the folder having arrived in the Minister's office. What happened next is that on 10 March the Minister had one or two meetings with the Secretary General...