Results 23,841-23,860 of 26,228 for speaker:Kieran O'Donnell

Health Services Delivery: Motion (Resumed) (26 Oct 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am delighted to contribute to this debate on the health services. Dialogue and open discussion is the way to reach a point where people become familiar with the changes and improvement in the health service. I am a Deputy for Limerick city. I refer to the accident and emergency department of Limerick Regional Hospital whose staff do such good work. The Minister has established a special...

Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (26 Oct 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I wish to share time with Deputy Donohoe.

Central Bank (Supervision and Enforcement) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (26 Oct 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am pleased to be able to contribute on this welcome Bill. To put it in context, consider what has happened in the banks in recent years. A key component of the financial crisis was the lack of proper regulation. For example, two people are in business together. Both have young families. One person does not abide by the rules whereas the other tries to abide by them. If the latter does...

Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) (No. 2) Bill 2011: Report and Final Stages (12 Oct 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I welcome amendment No. 6. The credit union movement provides a vital role across the economy, particularly through their local ethos. That must be balanced by ensuring the credit union movement is financially sound. I welcome the appeal mechanism that is being considered by the commission and the Minister. An appeal mechanism might allow the regulator to do his or her job but allow an...

European Financial Stability Facility and Euro Area Loan Facility (Amendment) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (21 Sep 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am delighted to contribute to the debate on this Bill. I congratulate the Minister and his staff on their efforts in respect of it. The IMF reports which have emerged indicate that what is occurring is a European problem. When one considers this matter, one comes to realise the major issue that arises is the recapitalisation of the banks in Germany, France and Spain, in particular. The...

Central Bank and Credit Institutions (Resolution) (No.2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 Jun 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I welcome this legislation and congratulate the Minister on its introduction. Had it been there at the time of the bank guarantee back in 2008, Anglo Irish Bank would have been dealt with in a very different fashion and we might not have had to pay out so many billions of euro in taxpayers' money. When I talk about taxpayers I am speaking about all individuals, whether they are paying tax...

Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2011: Second Stage (Resumed) (8 Jun 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am pleased to support this Bill. I very much welcome the restoration of the minimum wage to its previous level. I also welcome the halving of the rate of PRSI to 8.5% in respect of workers whose income does not exceed €356 per week. The hallmark of any Government should be its fairness, and these are fair and progressive measures. The allocation of resources to social welfare must be...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (resumed) (25 May 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I understand there are ten minutes available to me. Is that correct?

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (resumed) (25 May 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: Perhaps the Acting Chairman will inform me when there are two minutes remaining.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011: Second Stage (resumed) (25 May 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I will have a particular message to deliver to the Deputy at that point. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2011. I will deal first with the measures it contains. The jobs initiative announced by the Government does not contain a promise to deliver a large-scale plan. We are restricted in that regard by the terms of the deal with the EU and...

Report of the Standing Order 103 Select Committee: Motion (17 May 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I commend Deputy Charlie Flanagan on the efficient manner in which he conducted the committee's business and on producing a comprehensive and relevant report. CCCTB has been discussed in very abstract terms but the proposal put forward by the European Commission breaches subsidiarity rules because there is insufficient information to make a proper evaluation of the proposals and, by the...

Jobs Initiative 2011: Statements (Resumed) (12 May 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am delighted to have an opportunity to speak on the jobs initiative, which I believe is practical and creative. It covers a wide range of areas and must be viewed in context, namely, the IMF deal which restricts us in terms of the amount of money we can borrow. Fine Gael gave a commitment to put jobs at the top of its agenda when in government and has done so in terms of the introduction...

Jobs Initiative 2011: Statements (Resumed) (12 May 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: It made no sense. The Government is in negotiations with the airlines on this matter. I welcome that the taxpayer will see a return from the reduction in the travel tax. Also, I welcome, in the context of Shannon, the tourism marketing fund which will focus on bringing extra tourists to Ireland. From 2007 to 2010 there was a 25% reduction in passenger numbers nationally. Tourism is an...

Commission of Inquiry into Banking Sector: Statements (20 Apr 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am delighted to contribute to this debate. The Nyberg report is very wide-ranging and has much in common with the previous reports but it has also dealt with new areas. It goes over old ground which was also dealt with in the other reports. The lack of proper regulation was probably the most critical factor in the banking crisis. Proper regulation from the regulatory authorities would...

European Council Meeting: Statements (22 Mar 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I am delighted to make a contribution to this debate and in the short time available to me I want to make a number of important points. I wish the Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny, well in the negotiations over the comings days but I want to deal with the issue of corporation tax. Europe should be aware that the low corporation tax has been a cornerstone of our economic platform since the 1950s...

Programme for Government: Motion (15 Mar 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I wish to share my time with Deputies Buttimer and Donohoe. I rise to endorse and support the programme for Government. In the limited time I have, I will discuss three main areas. If we do not deal with the banking crisis, we cannot move forward as an economy. I remember when the bank guarantee scheme was introduced by the then Government in September 2008. It was introduced on the...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: I wish to refer to something that has arisen in practice in the context of section 60. The residential housing market is not moving at the moment, but many young couples have bought homes. They took a risk, although people said the market was still falling. In many such cases, people were advised to close and pay stamp duty at 1% prior to the budget, whereas they are now paying 4% or more....

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: Will the Minister of State yield?

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: On the practical issue, I know that many calls have been made to the Department of Finance - although not a huge number - from people who are upset because, when they were purchasing their homes, the stamping instrument went through prior to 8 December. Similarly, there are cases of people who bought their homes on the same date. Some would have effectively put through the statutory...

Finance Bill 2011: Committee Stage (26 Jan 2011)

Kieran O'Donnell: The Government is giving transitional arrangements where someone who enters an agreement after 8 December ends up paying a higher amount that he or she would have paid if going through before this date. In the interests of fairness the reverse should apply. The dates are arbitrary but I am focusing on the week before, from 1 December. I should like if for Report Stage the Minister could...