Results 2,641-2,660 of 5,046 for speaker:Paschal Mooney

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Transport and Communications: EU Energy Policy: Discussion with EU Commissioner for Energy (20 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I also welcome the Commissioner and hope he enjoys his time in Ireland. I am interested to note his background is as a tax consultant and I am sure members would have loved to have the opportunity to find out what were his views on Irish taxation policy in the light of our economic problems. Many of the questions have had a local dimension and I note that, politically, the Commissioner...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: It is significant that the trend of the debate on this side of the House as much as on the other side has been towards tackling the issue of long-term unemployment. I commend Senator Mary White for highlighting the dire statistics for the second quarter issued by the Central Statistics Office. There are a number of suggestions. However, we have not heard much in recent months about the...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I am just taking the stark statement made by the Senator who said that if people were paid, they would be absent. That was the point she made. However, I do not wish to be distracted as there was a significant number of contributions across the House on the issue. In his announcement of the legislative programme in the other House up to the end of the year the Government Chief Whip...

Seanad: Charities Act 2009: Motion (19 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: Is that agreed? Agreed.

Seanad: Charities Act 2009: Motion (19 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I call Senator Barrett.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: -----will know the pain and anguish that has been caused as a result of the withdrawal of budgets since last July and which will continue to happen. I am asking for the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government to attend the House to debate this matter. I also urge a note of caution. If consent has been withdrawn by a significant portion of the population to household...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I do not believe the Government will get compliance. I know we will be revisiting this in the future. I am sounding a note of warning that when the property tax legislation comes before the House, the Government side will need to see if the people will give their consent to the tax.

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Sep 2012)

Paschal Mooney: Although it is probably inevitable, my party regrets the note of partisanship that crept into the speech by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, in introducing the text of the referendum on children's rights when she talked about neglect in the past 20 years. It seems the benchmark in this regard is the statement by the former Supreme Court judge, Mrs....

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I am pleased the Minister has taken a balanced approach in this regard. As he is aware, Fianna Fáil pushed for further reforms in this area and I reiterate that Fianna Fáil relies on small individual donations for more than 80% of its funding. The party's position has been that corporate donations should be banned outright. However, I agree the Minister has struck the right balance in...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I support these amendments. I note amendment No. 10 inserts the clause "whether the donation was requested from the donor, and if so, the name and postal address of the person who requested the donation". That is quite significant in light of the reports of the Mahon tribunal, especially as they applied to local politicians in the early 1990s. It is sometimes forgotten that all of the...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I agree with the Minister. There is a danger that, in setting up SIPO, we have created a form of bureaucratic monster. For those of us who are in the political arena, the amount of paperwork through which one now must go quite meticulously to ensure that one does not make mistakes is comprehensive. That is the era in which we live of openness, accountability and transparency. In...

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: That will definitely be one for Miriam Lord tomorrow.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I rise more in fear of being tweeted by Senator O'Keeffe for not making a contribution. I cannot extend the touchy-feely side of my nature to endorsing everything that has been said by the female Members on both sides.

Seanad: Electoral (Amendment) (Political Funding) Bill 2011 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (20 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I should put that on the record. As he leaves this Chamber, I am sure the Minister, Deputy Hogan, is wondering what happened to result in wonderful bouquets being thrown at him rather than brickbats. I believe he thrives more on the brickbats than he does on the bouquets. The statistic quoted by Senator Bacik that 86% of Irish people believe the political system is corrupt is a warning...

Seanad: Business of Seanad (20 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: On behalf of the Fianna Fáil group I endorse everything said by the Leader and I thank him for his continuing courtesy and understanding of the political foibles in which we all indulge from time to time. I wish him and all on the Government side of the House a very welcome respite. I look forward to returning to the fray in September.

Seanad: Employment Support Services (19 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. I understand he will respond to me on behalf of the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton. An Irish executive from PayPal Ireland publicly announced last week that her company will have to import workers to fill approximately 500 of the 1,000 new jobs it announced earlier this year. She bemoaned the fact that PayPal Ireland has...

Seanad: Employment Support Services (19 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I am grateful to the Minister of State for his response. While I had originally intended that the matter would be addressed by the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Bruton, I understand the reason it is being addressed by a Minister from the Department of Education and Skills as it is related to education. I welcome the various initiatives to which the Minister of State...

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I was astonished to learn that a circular was supposed to have issued from the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government to local councils imposing yet another cut. It was reported in today's Irish Independent that the Longford county manager confirmed that €1.3 million has been cut from his budget in the seventh month. Local authorities are already suffering under the...

Seanad: Presidential Nominations: Motion (18 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: I am sorry, but I believed the Acting Chairman was waiting to call me.

Seanad: Presidential Nominations: Motion (18 Jul 2012)

Paschal Mooney: Will the Acting Chairman not allow me? I am the last Senator to speak.