Results 4,441-4,460 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Private Business. - The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (Charters Amendment) Bill 2002: Second Stage. (12 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Or "the Whatettes". I wondered would we have to find a new name for County Meath, not to mention what would happen in the case of the royal family. I am not sure what the royal family or Jim Royle and his family would make of all of this. People who cannot accommodate their history should find a different place to live. This is the name of this distinguished college. I might say it is the...

Seanad: Fischler Proposals for Agriculture: Motion. (12 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: That is unfair.

Seanad: Fischler Proposals for Agriculture: Motion. (12 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: We have had to listen to two hours of an appalling debate and we should be entitled to inject some sense into the discussion before we finish.

Seanad: Fischler Proposals for Agriculture: Motion. (12 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This has been as bad a debate on agriculture as I have heard in my time in this House – and that refers to both sides of the House. I hope the IFA president, John Dillon, has been listening to the debate. If he has any sense, he will rush back into the partnership talks while he still has a chance of getting some level of support.

Seanad: Fischler Proposals for Agriculture: Motion. (12 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Of course there is an agenda. I have defended the CAP reform proposals of the then Commissioner MacSharry against Fianna Fáil in this House. (Interruptions).

Seanad: Fischler Proposals for Agriculture: Motion. (12 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Yes, against Fianna Fáil. There was a similar situation earlier tonight when Senator O'Brien had a go at his party colleague, the Minister for Agriculture and Food. I also defended the then Minister, Ivan Yates, against Fine Gael in this House. It has been a consistent issue for me that farmers were never told the truth by the leadership of Irish society. It was as clear as could be from...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: The only problem is when such legislation goes through the Houses nobody will oppose it because everyone is afraid of the electorate.

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: The Senator is quite right. We thought the Freedom of Information Act was overly progressive in its own way, but we will now be obliged to change it. It is always a good indication that there is no sign of an election when Fine Gael get both matters on the Adjournment. Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Lourdes and is known as a day for miracles. Yesterday, the Minister of State, Deputy...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Part of the new partnership agreement on sustaining progress states, "The successful river basin strategy will be extended by promoting and assisting the establishment of integrated local authorities led river basin management projects". I hope the House takes due note of this as it is a major step forward.

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I am happy the social partners are more prepared than Members of the House to listen to good advice on some of these issues. The new partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, will be published today or tomorrow. It should be debated in the House while the different pillars are considering it. The House has discussed the issue of housing on many occasions and this is included in the...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: The social partners care about the environment.

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: This is a crucial amendment and I support it. The Minister of State should bring this to the attention of the parliamentary counsel. The words removed go completely against the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement. No one in the Minister of State's Department is responsible for this. The parliamentary counsel have a particular approach, but they should be told that they must look out for this...

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I find this section utterly confusing. Perhaps the problem is in relation to my command of the English language. I support the amendment, which makes perfect sense and I hope the Minister of State will accept it. Section 7 gives Science Foundation Ireland certain authority such as, for example, in paragraph (f), under which it will "carry out such other functions that concern oriented basic...

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I understand that. I am delighted the Minister of State accepted Senator McCarthy's amendment. It certainly adds significantly to the section. It is hugely important that competitiveness should go hand in hand with environmentally sustainable development. What I am really asking is a serious question in terms of how the foundation will work. The foundation will carry out functions which are...

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I surrender.

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: That is the point. I accept that explanation; it makes sense. However, it is going to produce something broad. That is the opposite to my understanding of oriented. There is a simple way to deal with this. Would it be possible at some stage to insert a description? I am not an expert in this area but "oriented basic research" might have a scientific meaning. If it has, the solution is simple....

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Who can argue with that?

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: That is the new board.

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: I agree with what Senator McCarthy said and have committed to it. However, I have often been in a room full of people articulating that view yet, when they have the opportunity of nominating, they suddenly forget it. Even though I agree with Senator McCarthy, there is a difficulty in that one cannot say more than is in the Bill. If the only person considered suitable for a position is male...

Seanad: Industrial Development (Science Foundation Ireland) Bill 2002: Committee and Remaining Stages. (11 Feb 2003)

Joe O'Toole: Kilrush.