Results 3,341-3,360 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2007: Second Stage (19 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: If the Government is serious about this, it should focus on reforming the public service and making it work. The Minister and I had many discussions on the consultants' contract. I got a lot of grief from some of my colleagues in the medical profession, as long ago as January 2006, when I backed the Minister's approach to this issue. I suggested to her that if agreement could not be...

Seanad: Health (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2007: Second Stage (19 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: They said it would undermine the economy and that the Government would make a mess of it.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: The Senator is very sensitive.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: A number of pieces of legislation were rushed through the previous Dáil before its end. These were the Pharmacy Bill and Bills concerning the new Medical Council and new nursing home standards. Could the Leader find out whether these pieces of legislation have even been implemented or if their commencement orders have been signed? There is considerable concern about what is happening in...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: In May 2005, "Prime Time" exposed to the entire country what was happening at Leas Cross. Going on information supplied to me by the Leader of the House it will be June 2008, more than three years later, before the Garda Síochána will consider a criminal investigation into what happened at Leas Cross. In light of what we read about the report into the Brothers of Charity, which was...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2008: Statements (5 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: The budget shows how misguided or misleading the Government was at the previous election, because our expectations are not being fulfilled. We were told the good times, which date back a decade, would continue as long as Fianna Fáil was back into power. Fianna Fáil was voted back into Government, but we have gone from a surplus of €3 billion in the previous budget to an expected deficit...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2008: Statements (5 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: Another factor is that, as Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Cowen has increased current public spending from 25% to 31% of GNP. The Minister is taking us back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. In the late 1980s it was decided by the leadership of both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael that such spending was unsustainable yet the Government is letting public spending run riot. There is no...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2008: Statements (5 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: ——without feeling any shame. Will the Green Party members of Government push for changes to the type of cars Ministers drive? The Green Party Ministers are embarrassed to be driven around in cars that are not environmentally friendly but why do they not put the same pressure on their Government colleagues? They should lead from the top rather than expect everybody else to do it. The...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2008: Statements (5 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: The soft landing that was talked about for many months is not happening. We must face up to reality now. The housing market is in a serious mess. The Minister should stop talking like an auctioneer and tell the truth to the people of Ireland. There are problems in the housing market. We must deal with them but the Government is too late in respect of stamp duty reform.

Seanad: Budget Statement 2008: Statements (5 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: In regard to carbon tax and VRT, again the Minister has left it too late. We must reduce our emissions to 63 million tonnes of carbon to meet our Kyoto commitments. When did the Minister find out about that? Was it yesterday? Currently we are at 70 million, yet it is only now the Minister talks about climate change and changing VRT. It is as if the Government woke up yesterday morning...

Seanad: Budget Statement 2008: Statements (5 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: Is that a U-turn?

Seanad: Budget Statement 2008: Statements (5 Dec 2007)

Liam Twomey: I cannot cope with this.

Seanad: Realising Equality and the Traveller Community: Statements (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: We should always be realistic with regard to what we say in this Chamber. As a politician and a doctor, I have had a great deal of contact with the Traveller community. If there is one thing I admire about members of this community, it is that they say things as they are and are not disposed to the patronising "we know what is best for you" attitude displayed towards them. There was a...

Seanad: Realising Equality and the Traveller Community: Statements (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: They like to be told it straight and do not like the nonsense of people talking down to them. There is a major problem with regard to health issues in the Traveller community.

Seanad: Realising Equality and the Traveller Community: Statements (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: If the Minister of State wants me to be constructive, I will oblige him. I notice he has got into the habit of checking his text messages during the contributions of Opposition Members. I will try to prevent him from doing so by speaking up somewhat. It is estimated that the level of diabetes among Travellers is double that which obtains in the settled community. There are also major...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: My party has always worked with the Minister.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: The information is more than two years old.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: We were backing the Government cancer strategy. There was no need to list it.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: Try working with us.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (28 Nov 2007)

Liam Twomey: What ideas are they?