Results 33,141-33,160 of 33,392 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Business of Seanad (1 Oct 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I concur with what all my colleagues have said. I wish to put forward a brief and practical suggestion. The time of the House tomorrow has been set aside to consider the Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008, which is detailed administrative legislation covering the implementation of a policy that was brought forward in 2005. There is no reason that Bill cannot be taken next week or next month as...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Bill 2008: Second Stage (1 Oct 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister. I wish to emphasise that Fine Gael will be supporting the Bill because it believes it is in the national interest. I acknowledge the major effort the Minister has been obliged to invest in dealing with this matter in recent and extremely trying days. It is also in the national interest to reflect on how we reached this point. An American central banker once famously...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I support the calls for a debate on local authority funding. At the end of last week Dublin City Council was told it would need to cut back dramatically on its social housing programme for the coming year. I represent many of those people and frequently deal with people who have been on waiting lists for between five and ten years. Those people have seen the Government galvanise itself to...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Oct 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: We need to ensure that debate is entertained and conducted in a respectful manner, as Senator Twomey noted, in order that we do not end up in this mess again.

Seanad: OECD Report on Integrated Public Service Reform: Statements (2 Jul 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: The value of a report such as this is that it provides hard figures which one can discuss and from which one can make evaluations. In his contribution Senator Hanafin said that the figures indicate we have a fairly lean public service, while Senator O'Malley inferred something quite different in her contribution when she referred to the perceived over-manning and bureaucratic structure in...

Seanad: OECD Report on Integrated Public Service Reform: Statements (2 Jul 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: In preparing for today's debate, I came across a very appropriate quote from one of the pioneers of our public service, Mr. T.K. Whitaker, who stated: The day-to-day decisions of government, no less than those of individuals, tend too often to respond to the pressures, the needs, the provocations and the opportunities of the moment. Good management demands the longer view. In this debate and...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I join Senator O'Malley in recognising the success of the Oireachtas family day over the weekend. I was lucky enough to be able to attend on Sunday and it was a delight to see so many people who have not been in the Oireachtas before come in, see how it works and have an opportunity to see the wonderful premises in which we are privileged to serve. It was an inaugural event which I hope...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: The OPW is part of the Government which the Progressive Democrats supports and in which it has a Minister who sits at the Cabinet table. While I am disappointed to see such continued waste in Government spending, I am not surprised to see it happen.

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Jul 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I concur with Senator Fitzgerald's request for a debate on the economy. In February 2007 the ISEQ index stood at more than 10,000 points. At lunchtime today it was slightly in excess of 5,000 points. Standard & Poor's, the rating agency on which many of our companies depend, issued six statements in which it changed the ratings Irish banks enjoy. It slightly downgraded the ratings two of...

Seanad: Public Private Partnerships (26 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State back to the House and thank him for taking this matter which concerns the current status of the inner city Dublin communities that were affected by the collapse of public private partnership projects. When the process collapsed a number of weeks ago, the issue appropriately generated a significant profile both politically and in the media. In the meantime,...

Seanad: Abbey Theatre: Statements (26 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and thank him for his contribution on this important topic. I am struck by the fact that we are discussing something that is of enormous value to us all. The Minister of State did a great job in acknowledging the wonderful literary and historical heritage of the institution we are discussing. He acknowledged that it was the first...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: That is right, look into the past. See how the Leader's Government handles things.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Leader for responding to our request for a debate on the economy. He said the debate would take place next Wednesday and would be on the recent OECD report.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: Next Wednesday the Government will publish the Exchequer returns.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I suggest next Wednesday's debate centres on the Government's view on the economy as opposed that of the OECD.

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: One year ago our party and the Government laid out competing visions for what should happen with the economy and the future of the country. On Tuesday, 1 May 2007 the then Minister for Finance and now Taoiseach, Deputy Brian Cowen, stated in reference to the plans Fine Gael had for the future of the economy and our intentions had we formed a Government that he intended to burn us slowly on a...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to second the proposal by Senator Fitzgerald for an amendment to the Order of Business. One of the points she forcefully made concerned examples of public moneys being wasted by the Government. An unfortunate example of this will take place in August when a new barrier system comes into operation on the M50. This House should examine where large amounts of Exchequer funding have...

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: I support the calls of my colleagues for a debate on the state of the country's finances. I listened with great interest to what some of the Government speakers said about——

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: ——the scale of the issues we are facing. There is one point we will never allow this Government to forget, namely, it was lucky enough to be in office during an unprecedented global boom and never missed a single opportunity to take credit for it. Now, when we find we are not doing as well as we would like, the Government regards it as somebody else's fault.

Seanad: Order of Business (24 Jun 2008)

Paschal Donohoe: When the economy is doing well, it is the Government's responsibility but it is also its responsibility when it is not. We want a demonstration of political leadership in this House and to hear it in the debate for which Senator Fitzgerald is calling.