Results 2,481-2,500 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Jul 2006)

Joe O'Toole: No.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (3 Jul 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Was he a Fine Gael man?

Seanad: Order of Business. (3 Jul 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I strongly support the argument put forward by Senator Brian Hayes in respect of credit cards. It is the view of some commentators throughout Europe that countries should introduce legislation to restrict the number of credit cards a person can hold and to require banks and other financial institutions to check on the number of credit cards held by a person before issuing a new one. In...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I congratulate the Minister and his officials on a complex Bill. We have criticised the Minister for the past six months because the Bill has been growing like Topsy. Every time we looked around another ten pages had been added. It is more like a finance Bill but I hope it achieves what it set out to do. Though I have not read the Bill I have followed the debate in the Dáil and read parts of...

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I agree with the points made by Senator Brian Hayes on the decision of the US Supreme Court in Washington. This is a positive development and beneficial to decent American people who share the views of Senators on Iraq, the Middle East and al-Qaeda. However, I tuned into Fox News last night which was appalled.

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: The station carried a clip of the President of the United States stating that he was rushing to support two American Senators who will publish legislation to correct what the Supreme Court found wrong. Good luck to them if they can correct the Geneva Convention. I have received a number of communications from the former president of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, Pat Cahill....

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and I welcome the legislation. It is creative and novel and can only be of help. I have a number of questions and wish to make some points. The Minister of State will not be surprised to hear that I particularly welcome the authority given to a plebiscite and the nature of it. That is something dear to my heart. My own home town is currently lining...

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Dingle, Daingean Uí Chúis. We should continue to remind ourselves that this is Government policy, and that is a good idea.

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: What I like about it is that all businesses will have an equal vote in that first decision whereas businesses might have a different contribution to make when it comes to paying for it. We should look at it in a positive way, which is the way I want to look at it. I see dangers, however, in that some people might get involved in trying to make improvements to their streets but cannot get the...

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I foolishly took the trouble of looking at the websites of a few county councils to see where all this washed money was. I could not find it——

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I have heard Senator Bannon make some caustic comments about the fact that he could not find it either. Perhaps we are slow on the uptake but where these local authorities are awash with money I should like to know where it is kept. If they were awash with money, which is not being spent, could it not in the meantime be used for initiatives parallel to what the Minister of State proposes? The...

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: The Minister of State would like to cause a row.

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I think the Minister is trying to incite Senator Bannon.

Seanad: Local Government (Business Improvement Districts) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: The Minister of State is really stretching it now.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I take grave exception to the comment made by Senator Lydon.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: The last time he made a similar comment to my colleague, Senator Norris, he was invited to his leader's office where he was shown the door or the window to find his way out. He may be due another trip for the same purpose. His comment was quite appalling. A reasonable argument has been put forward on an issue. I did not hear the "Morning Ireland" radio programme this morning, on which I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: However, I read the piece in the Irish Independent this morning. It was the only newspaper to carry the story, and it has no by-line. This is a matter of extraordinarily serious consequence and I accept that people hold different views. I suspect that views differ on both sides of the House. This morning I had made special note to raise this issue in the House, because people should discuss...

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: I want a full debate. If the Leader states the only time it is possible is during the first week back that makes sense. The House should welcome an initiative described in The Irish Times today. The newspaper will make its archive which goes back to 1859 available to every school and researcher worldwide. This is an extraordinary and mind-boggling initiative. It opens up information and...

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Jun 2006)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, the unions immediately engaged themselves.