Results 2,321-2,340 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: It does not vary all that much.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I would hate to see a situation occur in which the Government would find it difficult to find one person to represent it on the audit committee or that there would not be two people available from the Opposition to fill an auditor's position.

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: That would be unusual to say the least. Does putting the audit committee on a statutory basis involve a change in the responsibilities of the members or does it place any additional burden on them?

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I asked earlier where additional money was spent between the 2004-06 budgets and the 2007-09 budgets, which came to about €80 million. The Minister gave a breakdown on some of it, but can his officials give me a full breakdown on where all that additional money has gone?

Seanad: Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: It is related to the section. It is a question about audit.

Seanad: Mental Health (Involuntary Procedures) (Amendment) Bill 2008: Committee Stage (2 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I ask the Minister of State to comment on the issues I will raise. I am probably the only Member of this House who has administered ECT. It is a truly barbaric procedure but so too is major surgery. We should consider the outcome of the treatment in asking whether it is necessary. I have witnessed the recovery of people who were incredibly depressed after they were treated with ECT but I...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I want the Minister for Health and Children to attend the House to discuss the matter of the training of junior doctors in our acute hospitals. A recent report shows that the vast majority of negligence cases in our hospitals are the responsibility of the most junior doctors in our health care system. They do not receive adequate training and supervision. I seek a debate on this,...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Solutions are the Senator's job.

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: I welcome the Minister of State. When we look towards the future, we should always cast an eye back on the past to understand why we ended up in this situation in the first place. Lord David Owen, a former British Foreign Secretary and is a qualified doctor, wrote a book entitled In Sickness and In Power. In it he examined how illness affected those in power. He described something that...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: Fortunately, the Minister of State does not suffer from the same sense of arrogance. At the time growth in our economy was of the amount of €15 billion per annum. That growth, about which everyone was boasting, was exactly the same as the amount the ordinary man and woman in the country was borrowing at the time. Growth was exactly the same as borrowing. How did this change matters? In...

Seanad: Pre-Budget Outlook: Statements (1 Dec 2009)

Liam Twomey: He was looking for an election last week.

Seanad: EU Council Decision: Motion (26 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: All Members will welcome any measure that will improve co-operation between customs services in the different jurisdictions of the European Union and reduce the quantities of illegal goods imported into Ireland. I refer, in particular, to reductions in the quantities of illegal drugs being imported by any number of organisations. On one level, I am surprised the Data Protection Commissioner...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: I support those Senators who spoke last night on the recent flooding and believe we should deal with the issue as if it was a full national emergency. Flood waters are at record levels across the Shannon basin and it is only right the Government should declare a national emergency, put a Minister in charge to deal with the issue properly for people in the west and midlands who have been...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: I would like to start on a positive note. I thank the Irish team for the magnificent performance it gave in the Stade de France last night, particularly Wexford's Kevin Doyle who has been a fantastic addition to the team throughout the qualifying period. Unfortunately it did not qualify for the competition in South Africa but its effort was fantastic. On another positive note, the...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: What about Fianna Fáil's Private Members' time?

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: No.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: Senator Quinn should not feel so strongly about not supporting this amendment because when one considers the amount of assets that NAMA will control, there will be plenty of opportunity for the Minister to look after the sort of organisations we are discussing. The Minister will deal with property worth €54 billion and there is more than ample scope for him to use a small proportion of...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: Because the Government would lose which would be difficult for the individuals involved. Aside from the politics of the House and the fact that we might derive some pleasure from that vote, the proposal has significant merit. The amount of the assets to be transferred would not disproportionately affect the outcome of NAMA. We should consider it in a positive way. We have wasted many...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: They Minister is very hopeful.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (11 Nov 2009)

Liam Twomey: I move amendment No. 10: In page 39, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: "(f) the avoidance of conflict of interest by any expert adviser or service providers to NAMA and the participating institutions, (g) the orderly property management strategy over a ten year period, (h) for issuing loans, or for allowing security over which it has a charge be used as collateral for loans by...