Results 5,061-5,080 of 5,294 for speaker:Michael McCarthy

Seanad: Election Expenses: Motion. (18 Jun 2003)

Michael McCarthy: In case Senators are hard of hearing or missed the point, not one brown cent was accounted for. Where is the accountability and transparency? Let us not forget that it was the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Cullen, who said spending at election time was not important. It is crucial. In many cases it can influence the result, about which there is no doubt....

Seanad: Order of Business. (12 Jun 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I wish to raise the issue of the spiralling cost of living. I ask the Leader to arrange for either the Tánaiste or the Minister for Finance to come before the House to debate the issue. Ireland is rapidly becoming one of the most expensive countries in the European Union. I compliment Senator Leyden on his name and shame list and his endeavours in this regard in recent weeks. However, I...

Seanad: Order of Business. (11 Jun 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I agree with Senator Brian Hayes in raising the issue of possible increases in spending limits, as reported in the media in recent days. I request the Deputy Leader of the House to arrange for the Minister for Environment, Heritage and Local Government to make a statement in this House as to his intentions in relation to increasing spending limits. One of the main features of last year's...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: McCartney. There is only one McCarthy in this House.

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Late last year in this House we initiated the National Tourism Development Authority Bill, which paved the way to allow CERT and Bord Fáilte to merge. This week, the Minister is due to officially sign the order to allow the merger to take place, but an industrial dispute is ongoing. I stressed in the debate on the Bill in the House that after the merger nobody in any organisation should be...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: —who appeared on television to do their bit to reduce the levels of carnage on our roads.

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2003 [ Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil ] : Report and Final Stages. (28 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Like Senator Bannon, I have a difficulty with regard to the service Members of the Oireachtas, who were former members of local authorities, will receive once the dual mandate has been abolished. I have raised this issue, which could present problems in future, on every Stage of the Bill. I support the call for the abolition of the dual mandate to be applied in a broader context rather than...

Seanad: Local Government Bill 2003 [ Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil ] : Report and Final Stages. (28 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I wish Senator Leyden well in his challenge to the Supreme Court.

Seanad: Order of Business. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: An article in this morning's edition of The Irish Times deals with the cost of care for the elderly. According to a report initiated by the Department of Social and Family Affairs, the cost of providing nursing home care and home help for the elderly is set to jump by 60% over the next decade. That is a huge increase and should set off alarm bells. The report concludes that there is a...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I am a member of a political party which bravely abolished third level fees during the early 1990s. That decision, by former Deputy Niamh Breathnach, was not only brave but visionary. Where was this proposal when the Government's election manifesto was revealed on a daily basis amid great pomp and ceremony? Was it in the newspapers or on a radio or television programme? No, it was not. The...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: If a proposal, or review as the Government is now calling it, of this magnitude goes ahead, it will hurt thousands of people, not least those who are on the margins, on middle and average incomes. There are plenty of opportunities for the Minister to raise revenue if he is serious about running a Department. He can chase his friends in the bloodstock industry or perhaps consult his friends in...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: The Government has betrayed the trust of the democratic citizens of this Republic.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: We are presented with these mini-budgets on a daily and weekly basis and the Government's arrogance and contempt for the electorate is nearly as brazen and cheeky as the day or week before. The Minister can use the taxation system—

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: —as well he knows. This decision is pathetic and it will hurt thousands of people.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: It will be a decision.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: If Fianna Fáil Senators wish to wear blinkers, then woe betide them when they are knocking on doors next year, looking for votes to return their candidates to local authorities and the European Parliament. If the Government is that blinkered and the Minister is not willing to fight the Department of Finance for appropriate funding for his Department, as a Minister should, perhaps he should...

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: I remind Senators that it was a Fianna Fáil Minister who introduced free second level education. That Minister was an uncle of the founder of the Progressive Democrats Party and it is about time Fianna Fáil went back to its roots and, for once, listened to the wishes of the ordinary people.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Fianna Fáil should give up the act of calling this a review. The party should get rid of this blinkered system.

Seanad: Rural Development Policy: Statements (Resumed). - Third Level Fees: Motion. (21 May 2003)

Michael McCarthy: Fianna Fáil Members should get rid of their arrogance and go away and consult their consciences.