Results 20,921-20,940 of 21,499 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Brendan Howlin, spoke last night of the harsh realities facing the State. His view seems to be that it is time to knuckle down and accept our fate. The McCarthy review of State assets was widely praised for its contribution to the debate on which assets to cash in, and Sinn Féin has this evening been given a rap on the knuckles for not...

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: Of course, we in Sinn Féin believe the Government should honour commitments to its people. It should use the people's money to support job creation, get young people off welfare and into education, provide enough special needs assistants and hospital beds, and support and foster successful, innovative commercial semi-states that benefit all of the people-----

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----and not holders of bad bank debt.

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: To tell the people that the proceeds of the sale-----

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----will be used for investment in job creation is to sell the people a pup.

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: Even if Government secured the agreement of the troika to do so, it would be a fraction of the sale value. Real growth through job creation and a significant write-down of bad debt is the only way forward. The EU is getting it wrong and the Government is getting it wrong. It is now time for a different path.

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: Even at this eleventh hour, I ask the Minister to return to the commitment he made to the people when he went before them and was duly elected. He and his colleagues promised they would oppose privatisation and that they would use semi-state companies-----

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----in a way that would serve the long-term strategic needs of this State and its people.

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: Now he and his colleagues are on the brink of making a colossal U-turn.

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: Their decision to privatise part of the ESB is wrong-headed and short termist, and I think they know that. What they know above all, I am sure, is that the decision they have taken flies in the face of promises made.

ESB and Disposal of State Assets: Motion (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: For God's sake.

Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: The Whip needs to do more that consider holding a debate. The emergency summit happened in July. The House was supposed to receive a report on it. I understand that the recess intervened. It is important for Deputies to have an opportunity to debate these matters in the House. There is public anxiety about developments in Greece, Italy and further afield. It is important for the House...

Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: Can the Taoiseach give the House a commitment that such a debate will happen? If we have to sit longer, so be it.

Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: We did not.

Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is the point.

Order of Business. (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: I am sure the Taoiseach can bring his influence to bear.

Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: On 10 May the Taoiseach introduced his jobs initiative, stressing that it was not a budget. In May there were 440,000 people on the live register. By the end of August that figure had risen to almost 500,000, or 14.4%. It is now clear that this jobs initiative has failed, the policy of squandering the National Pensions Reserve Fund on the banks rather than using it as a stimulus has been...

Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: I find it astonishing that the Taoiseach would even suggest that the hundreds of thousands of people out of work do not wish to find employment. Given that he raised the issue of hourly payments, he might also reflect on the fact that no one sitting in this Chamber is on €9.50 per hour. If he takes a look around him-----

Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----and tries to understand the cost of living in the real world, he might find the answer to that particular riddle. The Taoiseach states that the unemployment figures are unacceptable; in that he is correct. What is even more unacceptable in the face of this unemployment crisis is to have a Government that sits on its hands. It talks big, it acts small.

Leaders' Questions (21 Sep 2011)

Mary Lou McDonald: I do not accept the Taoiseach's position that he has had no contact with Aviva. He has passed the buck to IDA Ireland. Hundreds of jobs are now under threat. What will he do about it? It is not sufficient to pass the buck to another agency. If he is so appalled, so concerned to keep people in work and get them back to work, he should get cracking now and ensure those jobs in Aviva are...