Results 3,921-3,940 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I accept that. Every member of the Personal Injuries Assessment Board would agree with the points made by Senator Coghlan and that the time limit should be six months. However, Senator Leyden's point is relevant. It would be possible to process the cases in six months if there were sufficient staff and everything else was in order. A person can have an accident today and make a claim within a...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I did not say that. I quoted another Member of the House—

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: A number of important points have been raised which require our consideration, for example, the positions of the Law Society and the Bar Council and the question of earning a living. There is no problem in a person earning a living but it breeds cynicism in me if I receive a multi-page document from one of those bodies explaining why this Bill should be rejected, without having Senator...

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: An interim board was appointed in the last year and has been operating.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Report and Final Stages. (25 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: The current board is provisional.

Seanad: Order of Business. (24 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I support the points made by Senator Brian Hayes on No. 7, which has been raised on several occasions by Senator Henry, and No. 8. What legislation will come before the House before Christmas? Although we received a list a month or six weeks ago, I am not sure of the current position. There are currently six Seanad Bills before the Dáil, some of which were rushed through this House following...

Seanad: Order of Business. (24 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: This is a major issue. In terms of trust and confidence in the legal system and the way we do our business, we are entitled to hear the Government's view on this matter. If there is a problem or the law needs to be changed, the House should be informed. My understanding is that offering bribes is a crime. Are steps being taken to respond to this?

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I also have access to BBC Parliament on digital television and I support the points made by Senator Brian Hayes.

Seanad: Order of Business. (20 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I am talking about all of us.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Second Stage. (20 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I take exception all the time.

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Second Stage. (20 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Would the Senator swap it for the hospital?

Seanad: Personal Injuries Assessment Board Bill 2003: Second Stage. (20 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I congratulate the Tánaiste on bringing this Bill forward. Everybody in this country is currently an expert on the problems of insurance. There is not a house in Ireland without a young driver who cannot get insurance. We are not specifically dealing with that problem today, but this legislation will deal with that issue, we hope, on 1 June 2004. Everyone knows about the businesses that are...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: If we paid people the level of wages in the Far East and refused to pay our workers, we could probably do much more with the money. However, that is not how the world works.

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Earlier this year, I raised the issue of the various reports on the medical services, including the Hanly and Brennan reports, before they were published. At that stage, I requested a debate where people could establish their positions on the matter, rather than taking up political positions afterwards. We had a debate and people said what they had to say. However, the matter is now bringing...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: And business.

Seanad: Report of Tourism Policy Review Group: Statements. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: In welcoming the Minister of State to the House, I would emphasise that we have seen huge changes in tourism over a number of years. Ten years ago many people, including trade unionists, looked at tourism as a part-time industry with part-time jobs that were not real and could not be developed. This is thankfully beginning to change, but not quickly enough. Many places are taking a new look...

Seanad: Report of Tourism Policy Review Group: Statements. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I know. This is another thing one does not find in Ireland. I guarantee one could search every butcher shop in this town and not find a bit of mutton. Nobody remembers what it is anymore. We can all talk about the big issues, but I want to concentrate on simple, practical things. There are some things that we are not doing that we could and need to do. In fairness, successive Governments have...

Seanad: Report of Tourism Policy Review Group: Statements. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I was just about to start reading from my script. We support all the attempts to advance tourism into a year-round industry. Will the Minister tell people about the beauty of walking along a beach in west Kerry in the middle of a raging storm in the bright light of winter? Is there a more attractive experience in the world?

Seanad: Stem Cell Research: Statements. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I thank Senator Norris for sharing his time and I support his comments on Senator Henry's earlier contribution.

Seanad: Stem Cell Research: Statements. (19 Nov 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I fully and completely support the position of the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the views she expressed earlier. She outlined the only reasonable, sensible and sustainable position one can adopt. In a sense, we are getting an easy ride in that we are able to adopt this approach. It would be wrong to try to impose whatever particular values we hold on...