Results 1,561-1,580 of 16,285 for speaker:Peadar Tóibín

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: Does the Minister know the difference between the parliaments on both sides of the Border?

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: You could have raised tax on higher incomes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: The joint committee has received a total of 49 petitions to date since the launch of the petitions system. This shows the level of interest within general society in the issue of oversight of what is happening in society in general and, more specifically, the delivery of public services. We are trying our best to get through them with fewer resources than we would like. We are going...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: It is an important petition. I am not referring to the individual petition in this regard but in general. A large section of Irish society is having remarkable difficulty financially and they are having difficulty seeing a way out of these problems. Many of them believe that they are not achieving justice with regard to their circumstances and how they relate to the financial system here....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: I agree. Deputy Harrington made another point with regard to the Irish Financial Services Appeals Tribunal in private session. He suggested that we should get a briefing on the power and influence that can be brought to bear.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: Are the recommendations, as indicated, agreed?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: That is the new recommendation to the effect that we are seeking to keep the petition open. Agreed. An chéad ceann eile is petition P00043/12 from Mr. Thomas Kevin Walshe concerning the back-to-education allowance. Members have been circulated with a summary note. The petitioner is entitled to €188 per week under the jobseeker's allowance but not entitled to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Decisions on Public Petitions Received (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: Like all members I have had representations from constituents. I know of one person who had to emigrate because the option was not available to him. We need a knowledge economy so we should be creating pathways for individuals to return to education or back to work. Many people fall between the two stools. The system is not designed for people; they are expected to fit into the system....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman Special Reports: Discussion with Ombudsman (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: The committee is now sitting as the Joint Sub-Committee on the Ombudsman. I ask all present to ensure that all mobile phones are switched off as they interfere with the recording of proceedings. The sub-committee is to consider two items. First, the report by the Ombudsman entitled, Too Old to be Equal? - A Follow Up. This is an investigation by the Ombudsman into the refusal by the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman Special Reports: Discussion with Ombudsman (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: It is a very interesting report and I commend the work the Ombudsman's office has done on it. It seems quite shocking that the State would be flouting the law. We as a committee have come across that experience already in our engagement with An Coimisnéir Teanga. If the State does not function on the basis of law, that is a threat to the democratic nature of the State. This committee...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman Special Reports: Discussion with Ombudsman (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: I ask the Ombudsman to respond to those two questions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman Special Reports: Discussion with Ombudsman (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: People are shocked that if they flout the law, it will always be enforced, but that if the State flouts the law, there is no natural mechanism of enforcement.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman Special Reports: Discussion with Ombudsman (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: It is fair to say at this stage that the committee will use the full extent of the power it has to ensure there is full compliance with the law. We will ensure that citizen's rights are vindicated. We propose to invite the Minister, the Secretary General and the HSE to come before the committee. We will ask the legal team of the Houses of the Oireachtas to brief us on the situation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman Special Reports: Discussion with Ombudsman (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: I would like to comment briefly. Two reports - the Too Old to be Equal report and the motorised transport grant report - have been referred directly to this committee. I suggest that the two reports give us a basis to review the dealings of the Department and the HSE in each case. The two reports give us a door to open up our work to deal with the cultural aspects of the HSE. We can leave...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions: Ombudsman Special Reports: Discussion with Ombudsman (6 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: I wanted this meeting to happen before Christmas. I am cognisant that if it is too broad, it will not be possible to deal with some of these issues before Christmas. It has been suggested that we should bring in the Minister, the Secretary General, the HSE and the legal team of the Houses of the Oireachtas before Christmas to discuss this case, as outlined by Senator O'Keeffe. I think we...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Rights of People with Disabilities (11 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54476/12]

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Asylum Seeker Accommodation (11 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: To ask the Minister for Justice and Equality if he has met with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs regarding the issue of separated children seeking asylum who are removed from Health Service Executive care at the age of 18 yeas at which point they enter accommodation funded by his Department; the legal barriers to allowing them to remain with their foster carers; and if he will...

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: School Transport (11 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the difficulties that parents with different school aged children face with differing finishing times, if he will consider developing a single fare in addition to the return fare for school transport. [55127/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (11 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps that he has taken to ensure that the school build programme in County Meath contributes to the local economy and job creation through the provision of local labour, local sourcing and other social clauses within the procurement process. [55182/12]

Written Answers — Department of Education and Skills: Schools Building Projects (11 Dec 2012)

Peadar Tóibín: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he has taken to ensure that the school build programme at Johnston, Navan, County Meath, contributes to the local economy and job creation through the provision of local labour, local sourcing and other social clauses within the procurement process. [55234/12]