Results 421-440 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Role of Broadcasting Authority of Ireland: Statements (18 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State. One of the problems is that this debate reflects on the individuals we appoint to the board of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland because it has become so narrow. I disagree with Senator Mooney, although I agree with much of what he said. I recall i rith na seachtaine seo caite bheith ag féachaint ar clár ar feadh uair a chloig, déarfainn, ar Fleadh...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (18 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, the House has a Standing Order to deal with personal statements. I am not getting involved in the issue but the Cathaoirleach is completely right on this. If somebody wishes to correct the record etc. there is a way of doing so and it is written into Standing Orders. I accept Senator Leyden's good intentions but the Cathaoirleach is correct. That is the way it is...

Seanad: Public Service Agreement 2010-2014: Statements (13 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Calleary, for this important debate. I wish to acknowledge the important contribution Fine Gael has made to this debate. It is difficult for the Opposition to indicate support for certain things, particularly when this can be interpreted - or misinterpreted - as being support for Government. Fine Gael's position reflects precisely that in which...

Seanad: Public Service Agreement 2010-2014: Statements (13 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, I thought the Green Party was included in that list of spokespersons.

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: It might be helpful if both of the main parties calmed down a little on this issue and earthed themselves into what is happening in the real world. The reality is that the discussion document from Europe is hardly an assault on our sovereignty. On the other hand, it is a bit rich for Fianna Fáil to describe Deputy Richard Bruton as a Eurosceptic or jingoistic; that is not his style. We...

Seanad: Order of Business. (13 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: For those people, me and unemployed people, the idea that Europe might be casting an eye over our budget is far from being an intrusion into our sovereignty. Rather, it is a great reassurance and provides a sense of certainty which I welcome. The idea that we can share our views and discuss them with our European partners in order to ensure that none of the 27 member states goes AWOL again...

Seanad: Code of Conduct for Civil Servants: Motion (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: So, if we are nice, it will be accepted.

Seanad: Code of Conduct for Civil Servants: Motion (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: We will explain it.

Seanad: Code of Conduct for Civil Servants: Motion (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I move amendment No. 1: After "enacted." to add the following: "Conscious of various staffing embargoes and concerned about the lack of qualified and experienced personnel available to the Government and the Civil Service, in areas such as banking, bond markets, global economic models, financial instruments, credit rating and related functions, Seanad Éireann calls on the Government to...

Seanad: Common Agricultural Policy: Statements (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: When people in Melton Mowbray took on the major supermarket retailers in the United Kingdom, they were laughed at but they fought and won their case. As a result, the town owns the title of "Melton Mowbray" pork pie, which means that if Tesco or other retailers want to sell these pies, they must comply with the direction, regulation and arrangements made by the town. I would like the same...

Seanad: Common Agricultural Policy: Statements (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister and appreciate his comments. I go along with the points Senator Carty made. Since I became a Member of the House 23 years ago, time and again I have praised the work of various Ministers and a number of our Commissioners who fought hard to defend Irish agriculture. I hold the Irish Farmers' Association in great regard but I regularly say it should show more...

Seanad: Common Agricultural Policy: Statements (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: This legislation has wrecked the beef industry in small towns all over Ireland. When the Minister and I were young, our mothers or grandmothers would send us to the local butcher to buy a piece of meat for the Sunday roast. The butcher would ask us to tell our mother that the meat came from a farm down the road owned by Brendan Smith who bought the calf from John Carty. While this may be...

Seanad: Common Agricultural Policy: Statements (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I know mutton dressed as lamb and lamb dressed as mutton. I am lucky to be of a generation which learned the great art of telling them apart. I worry about young men who never had to make the distinction. The Minister referred to competitiveness and diversification. I ask him to do me the favour of studying a highly technical area of diversification until he fully understands it. Why are...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: While I strongly support the approach taken by Senator Fitzgerald, we need to engage with the facts. To do so, the Minister for Finance should first have a conversation with the Seanad about exactly where we stand, the budgetary outlook, his requirements, revenue predictions, growth and the budgetary preconditions to be met before we enter the Estimates process. Rather than beginning with a...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, an absolute rule in Standing Orders should be brought to the notice of the House, namely, when the Cathaoirleach stands, the speaker sits. It would be nice were that observed.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: If possible, I would like to see the Minister for Health and Children in the House today. Apart from the issue raised by Senator Fitzgerald, I would like to congratulate the Minister for dealing with the head shop issue, in which Members on all sides of the House have taken a keen and passionate interest. Her response is a simple and effective way of dealing with it. It may well be...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: It is a while since we received any response from Government Members on the question of Seanad reform, to which they were all committed. Can we take it that the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, has conceded to the main Government party on the issue? Is Seanad reform a dead duck? Is it dead in the water? Are we likely to hear any more on it? We were...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I concur with the points made by Senator Twomey on the Croke Park agreement. The first union to come back with a result, although it has not received much notice or publicity, is the Civil Service executive union, CPSU, a key union. It has accepted the deal by a majority of two to one. The clarifications given by the Government last night on teachers' contracts are extraordinarily helpful...

Seanad: Order of Business (6 May 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Legislation actually.