Results 3,181-3,200 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: -----and that is considerable credit to the people who bore the cost of the mess Fianna Fáil inflicted on the Irish people.

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: With regard to PRSI, for the first time in the history of the State, following the decision to lift the ceiling so that PRSI is attachable to all income, in future PRSI will be attachable to all unearned income. If income is from shares, dividends, rental properties or professional fees, it will be now necessary to pay PRSI. One cannot take a single item and present it in the partisan...

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Overall, the PRSI fund is in deep trouble and it is essential to maintain benefits. The very poorest and most modest paid in our society receive most of the benefits. Whether one is earning €120,000 or €20,000, one gets the same pension. For the first time, those with unearned income are now responsible for PRSI. It is the utmost of humbug for Fianna Fáil, having brought...

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: From where I am looking across at Fianna Fáil Members, there are as many spots as if they had the measles.

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Let us look at this leaflet being put around in opposition to the property tax.

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Who is putting it around? The very man who negotiated it, Deputy Micheál Martin. The Dalai Lama of Ballinlough comes in here-----

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I will not display leaflets. It is the utmost in hypocrisy for the party that brought this country to the edge of ruin to pretend, having negotiated the very memorandum of understanding that required the Government to introduce a property tax, to take up a position of opposition to it.

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: My backbenchers cannot compete in making noise with Deputy McDonald. She makes less sense economically than the flaky stuntmen in the Technical Group and she refused-----

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: That is stuntman No. 1.

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: It was interesting during the budget that the only squealing from the Technical Group was when it was made to account for its leaders' allowances.

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. Yes, indeed, this is a difficult budget. I do not recall anyone on the Government benches at any stage saying other than it would be a difficult budget. The challenge confronting the Government was taking €3.5 billion out of the economy, an action with which Fianna Fáil agrees. It ought to agree with it because it negotiated it when it handed over...

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: -----protecting the tax rates for those going to work, creating 10,000 jobs in successful schemes such as Tús and JobBridge, restoring home help, defending people with disabilities, and contrary to what Deputy Calleary has said, raising more than €500 million from those who are better off. Deputy Calleary seems to want to ignore the fact that this is the first budget which has...

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: We addressed capping relief on pensions at €60,000 per annum and top-slicing enormous severance packages. The measures that have levied more than €500 million from the better-off in our society are the main contributors to these overall savings.

Leaders' Questions (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The difficulty is that Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin broke with tradition this time and did not submit their pre-budget submissions for evaluation.

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Inland Fisheries (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) is a National Body, formed in July 2010 from an amalgamation of the former Central Fisheries Board and the 7 Regional Fisheries Boards. The establishment of IFI has facilitated more efficient and effective management of the inland fisheries resource. In addition it has brought to bear a national perspective to formulating policy which is more streamlined,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadcasting Sector (6 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I propose to take Questions Nos. 69 and 70 together. The Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) is assigned responsibility under Part 10 of the Broadcasting Act 2009 for the development, management and administration of the Broadcasting Funding Scheme. In line with the legislative provisions, the Scheme aims, inter alia, to develop local and community broadcasting. In operating the...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services (5 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Following the completion of the initial pilot phase of this project, a total of 78 post primary schools were provided with 100Mbps broadband. I announced in February 2012 the full rollout of 100Mbps to all second level schools in Ireland, to be completed over a 3 year period. 202 post primary schools were selected this year for the first phase of the national rollout. Of these, 195 schools...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services (5 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: I wish to advise that my Department’s officials have been engaged in ongoing contact with “3”, the National Broadband Scheme (“NBS”) service provider since it was made aware of recent service performance problems being experienced by some NBS customers in County Kerry. I understand that these NBS customers in the Ballydavid area experienced intermittent...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Broadband Services (5 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: Since market liberalisation in 1999, broadband services are delivered in the first instance through private sector operators. The State only becomes involved in the provision of services in instances of clear market failure. The National Broadband Scheme (NBS) and the more recent Rural Broadband Scheme (RBS) are examples of such interventions. Prior to the launch of the NBS my Department...

Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2012)

Pat Rabbitte: The Taoiseach was not at the Labour Party meeting.