Results 1,961-1,980 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole
- Seanad: Order of Business. (9 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: I have argued for and against sections of the Offences against the State Act on various occasions since becoming a Member of the House. It is not a biased or prejudiced view, I assess each issue as I see it.
- Seanad: Lourdes Hospital Inquiry: Statements. (9 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate, although I am not sure I can add much to what has been said. I have listened to a number of discussions on this issue in recent days and Senator Feeney's contributions were to the point and had an impact, which I will not attempt to match. I would like to consider the issues in a cold light because the women who suffered have been left...
- Seanad: Lourdes Hospital Inquiry: Statements. (9 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: Absolutely.
- Seanad: Order of Business. (21 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: I supported the proposals on decentralisation provided they would be done on a voluntary basis. I agree with the point that Senator Brian Hayes made and the point the representatives of the workers have been making over the past week. It will undermine the process of decentralisation if we reach a position where a person's career prospects will grind to a halt by virtue of what is being...
- Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: I agree with the points made by Senator Brian Hayes regarding the balance in RTE. From my experience over many years, the whole world appears to have dealt with this, including Ministers from all parties and colours. Ministers have often refused to sit in a studioââ
- Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: ââwith people such as myself. I have grown sick and tired of it and I have complete sympathy with the comments made by Senator Brian Hayes. On such occasions, RTE should not back down, and I have argued the case with the body before. Not only should it not back down, but if a Minister does not appear, RTE should not feel the need to be devil's advocate on behalf of somebody who refuses to...
- Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: That is true but others did.
- Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: And knowledge and information.
- Seanad: Cancer Services: Motion. (22 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: I am privileged to second the motion tabled by my colleague, Senator Henry, as it is a crucial issue. I welcome the Minister of State to the House but cannot understand why it was necessary to table an amendment to the motion. I commented to Senator Henry that this motion would be easy on the Government, as it would not need to be amended. However, here we are. We have spent considerable time...
- Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: No. 15 on the Order Paper, the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Bill 2006, is in my name and that of the Independent Senators. The Leader will recall that the Bill was to deal with the question of seeking warrants for the continued interrogation of suspects who walked free because they were in court while the issues of a case were being discussed. The object of the Bill is to ensure...
- Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: There was a fortnight of events in the National Concert Hall, one night after the other.
- Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: We were the first in Europe to organise such events.
- Seanad: Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: No, they have been organised. On a point of order, we have already had concerts in the National Concert Hall.
- Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: As we go about our business in Ireland, it is worth looking at the rest of Europe. Over the last year we have seen strikes in Italy, Belgium, France and Germany. Today, France and the UK are shut down entirely, with rail travel, education, and health care affected. We may ask ourselves why that is not happening in Ireland. That there is not such disruption here and that we have recently had...
- Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: We were all patient but the Senator made it three years. We said that was too short.
- Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: The Senator is the one who was impatient.
- Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: That was what I said on the night but everyone disagreed with me.
- Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: With the permission of the House I wish to share my time with Senator Ulick Burke.
- Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister to the House and echo the words of Senator Maurice Hayes. I congratulate the Minister on the budget, a sentiment I expressed on budget night. I particularly welcome the move he made on an issue I raised with him last year, namely, the importance of taking the minimum wage out of the tax net â it was done â and on the issue of child care, which I also raised with...
- Seanad: Finance Bill 2006 [Certified Money Bill]: Second Stage. (28 Mar 2006)
Joe O'Toole: The Minister has indicated he will give me a minute of his time; I thank him for that. The biggest issues we are facing currently are eco-environmental issues. They were raised over the weekend by the Green Party but we are aware of them. They are issues of dependency on oil and the problem of waste and wasted energy. I end my contribution with this thought. I did some research on this area...