Results 5,161-5,180 of 15,491 for speaker:Eamon Gilmore

Order of Business (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The report of the Commission on Credit Unions has been published. The credit union movement was very much involved in the preparation of the report and there was a high level of consultation. It is expected there will be further discussion and consultation with the credit union movement. Some legislation will be required. The object is not to close credit unions but to consolidate and to...

Order of Business (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Deputy is not being told that. A decision has been made as to the structure that will be put in place for the water utility in future. There will be a State company under Bord Gáis Éireann. Beyond that, arrangements for metering, the types of meters to be used and all of those practical arrangements will require much work. We are talking about a period of two or two and a half years...

Order of Business (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The personal insolvency legislation, as I indicated previously, is being moved forward with urgency. It has been moved to the A list, which is the list of Bills for publication this session. As both the Taoiseach and I have said publicly on a number of occasions, we are hugely concerned about the difficulties many households have in making their mortgage repayments. Dealing with the...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I join the Deputy in expressing my sympathy and sadness and that of the Government and Labour Party on the death of Mr. Paul Barry who served us so well in the Houses for so many years. Paul was a man who showed great courtesy and offered great assistance to all of us and we are saddened this morning to hear of his passing. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. The budget introduced by the...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy Micheál Martin made an assertion that the budget had hit those on the lowest incomes and I am making it very clear that the budget we introduced protected those on the lowest incomes-----

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: -----and reversed the cruel measure introduced by the Government led by the Fianna Fáil Party to cut the minimum wage. The work the Minister for Social Protection is doing is to reform the social welfare system, something that has been long overdue and was neglected during the years, particularly during the good years Deputy Micheál Martin's party was in government. The changes the...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy Martin knows very well it is quite normal practice that when legislation is brought before the House and enacted, there are provisions for the commencement of various sections of that legislation. The proposal in the Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2012 is that for new recipients from May 2012, a one-parent family payment will be made until the youngest child reaches the age of 12,...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I ask the Deputy to bear with me.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It is being done in the context of reforming the way in which child care is being delivered. The Minister for Social Protection has made it clear that those measures go hand in hand with those reforms. Clearly, the Minister for Social Protection will be engaging with the Minister for Education and Science and the Minister for-----

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Of course she has. The Deputy has been long enough in government to know that when legislation is introduced, particularly reforming legislation - perhaps he does not know because he did not do much reforming - provision has to be made for the implementation of those reforms. As the Minister for Social Protection has made clear, the changes in the social welfare system and the changes in...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Nobody in this House or in this country would leave a seven year old without care of an adult. Let us get that clear first. This legislation is not about the age at which children should be left on their own. Nobody would leave a child on his or her own at seven years of age and nobody is contemplating that. The legislation is addressing the age at which the lone parent's allowance is...

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The issue is not at what age a child should be left on his or her own. As I have made very clear, there is no question of the Government legislating for children aged seven years to be left on their own.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: I repeat that there is a change - it is being done gradually - to the payment of lone parent's allowance.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: It will be coupled with the provision of child care.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: We are talking about the children of lone parents in receipt of loan parent's allowance who are at work. There is a necessity to provide adequate child care services. The Government is introducing a reform which provides for a graduated reduction in the age at which the loan parent payment is made. It will be combined with the provision of child care.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett used the word "dissociate". There is something from which he could dissociate himself - he has not yet done so - that is, the violent scenes in Galway last weekend.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: People have a right to protest.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: In fairness, the vast majority of those who were in Galway last week protested peacefully, but there was a minority who did not do so and Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett has yet to dissociate himself from their violent activity.

Leaders' Questions (19 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett might take the opportunity to do so now. I can answer his question very directly. The decision the Government has made on the future of the water supply will not result in the privatisation of services. That is because the decision we have made is to establish a public State company, a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann, to be the water utility. We have to...

Written Answers — Equality Issues: Equality Issues (18 Apr 2012)

Eamon Gilmore: The Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) is the principal global policy-making body on gender equality and advancement of women. The theme of the 56th session of the Commission was 'the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges'. Despite extending the negotiations beyond the scheduled session the Commission failed to...