Results 32,541-32,560 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Budget Statement 2011: Statements (8 Dec 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I want to talk about the way in which Senator Hanafin evaluated this budget in terms of fairness, and I will consider a number of examples to help us understand how fair it really is. Before I do so, however, I want to consider some of the commentary that has taken place about the budget. I was struck by an image I saw on my way to the House this morning. It was a picture on the front of a...

Seanad: Order of Business (7 Dec 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Many of my colleagues have referred to today's forthcoming budget. In that context, I am asking the Leader for a debate on the fourth report of the Joint Committee on Finance and the Public Service, entitled Report on Macroeconomic Policy and Effective Fiscal and Economic Governance. This report has been endorsed by all parties in the House and seeks a more effective way to deliver budgets...

Seanad: EU-IMF Programme for Ireland: Statements (2 Dec 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Senator.

Seanad: EU-IMF Programme for Ireland: Statements (2 Dec 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Connick. This is a hugely important plan for the future of our country. This agreement will affect every aspect of Irish political life, so it is important we discuss it today. This agreement represents the manifest failure of the ability of this Government to manage our affairs over the past seven to eight years. That failure is so obvious that I...

Seanad: EU-IMF Programme for Ireland: Statements (2 Dec 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to understand why the Government believes this cannot be done. I make this point for another reason, as there is much discussion about the intervention the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, made in the debate. The solution she advocated for 2013 is what we are trying to make happen now. The irony of the crisis we find ourselves in is that the solution proposed by the German...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Senator Bacik used an appropriate phrase - appalling vista - and I would like to apply the same phrase to the report published by the Central Bank yesterday on the review of bonus payments made to senior bankers. We have discussed at great length in the House the appalling mistakes made by the Government in regulating the banking sector over recent years. It is almost beyond contemplation...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Today of all days, and next week of all weeks, when the budget that will be introduced will show the cost of those mistakes to the country, the fact we have clear evidence that this continues to happen should be unacceptable to this House. It is absolutely unacceptable to the people of Ireland. I urge the Leader to arrange an immediate debate on this report. With regard to the what Senator...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (30 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to pick up on the question Senator Mooney asked the Leader about what is happening with the financial markets and suggest a more obvious answer as to what is driving the trend today. The financial markets doubt the credibility of this plan. There was a marked difference between the market reaction to the Greek plan and to our plan. When the Greek plan was announced, Greek shares,...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I support what Senator Cummins said in calling for a further debate on the four year plan. We should also discuss some of the reaction to the four year plan, in particular the call made by the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union for a campaign of civil disobedience against the plan. That is very much worthy of discussion in the House because any form of protest, including peaceful...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I ask the people making that call to reflect on three questions. The first is what the call means. Are they encouraging people to storm the Department of Finance, other Departments or institutions of State? They must clarify that. The second question is what it will achieve. An election is on the way following the passage of the finance Bill, whenever that may be. That gives people the...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Does that mean that regardless of the Government that will be in place this kind of campaign will be maintained? Will such a campaign be in place regardless of the result of the general election? That is the kind of signal that could send our society into a spiral from which it would be difficult to get out. I call on the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union to clarify and withdraw...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State. I welcome the publication of a plan such as this because one of the great failings in the budgetary process is that it is done on a year-to-year basis. This plan will put in place a framework for a number of years, laying out budgetary targets while recognising the fact that a new Government will have the discretion to decide to achieve the targets in a...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Some colleagues have called for a debate on the future of our Legislature and the need for change in that regard. There is a deeper force at play here which is beginning to manifest itself. The people to whom I have spoken believe that it does not matter for whom they vote in the next election because the Irish Government will not be running the country anyway. There is a growing...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Senator Harris is wrong in one regard in what he said. We are still a sovereign people and, unfortunately, that has a very negative implication today. It is still within our grasp to make matters worse for ourselves than they should be. It is possible to make what is truly disastrous situation for our country a crisis for Europe. That happened yesterday. I have spoken in this House and...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: That is not helpful in seeking to get where the country needs to get to.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: All over Ireland this morning people are asking one question: why can the Taoiseach not speak with the same clarity and honesty as the Governor of the Central Bank on "Morning Ireland"? While not underplaying the precarious position in which we found ourselves or our plight, he spoke with certainty and clarity about where we stood, the events of this week and those which the country would...

Seanad: National Paediatric Hospital: Statements (17 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State. I acknowledge the contributions of Senators Corrigan and Cannon. Politics will change as a result of the desperately difficult times in which we find ourselves and I was struck by the nuanced and constructive approach both my colleagues took to his matter. Care was taken to try to understand the issue and both speakers made informed contributions that left...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with my colleagues who called for a debate on the need for reform of our institutions, particularly in the context of the Croke Park agreement. I am struck by the tone of this morning's discussion and how grim it is. However, as I came to Leinster House this morning, people were having their breakfast before going to work, while children were going to school. The vast majority must...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I have listened with great interest to the contributions made from all sides of the House on what is a grave day in the country's history. We need to be clear, however, that victimhood is not a path to survival. I have heard some speakers blame the European Union and the media for what has happened, while others have blamed the private sector. None of these groupings has been elected to...

Seanad: Protection of Intellectual Property Rights: Statements (11 Nov 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Most Members have focused on intellectual property protection and the recent Charleton judgment which affects the music industry. I want to focus on the role intellectual property rights can play in creating the smart economy. The single best document the Government ever produced was the innovation taskforce report, Building Ireland's Smart Economy – A Framework for Sustainable Economic...