Results 501-520 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I regret the fact that the Minister has kicked it down the line. It is not that I do not have full confidence in Mr. Justice Quirke to deal with this matter. In fact, of all those involved in the Judiciary, he is the one I would be delighted to see deal with it because he has dealt with such cases. Much of the argumentation I have made to the Minister today comes from his comments from the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Not yet. While I accept the Minister's good intentions, this has been dragging on for 13 years. The day Deputy Hanafin was made Minister in 2002 the Government adopted a programme for Government. In the same year the Motor Insurance Advisory Board issued a report with 67 recommendations, one of which was that the system of lump sum compensation payments be reviewed on the basis that the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I note the Minister is shaking her head. I hope she will not let me down so grievously at this point. Recommendation put and declared lost.

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I support the view that this is the ideal House in which to discuss the report on the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. There is much to be discussed in this regard. It is not a party political issue or one on which the House needs to divide but this is the place in which to examine the issues raised. Many issues have emerged from the report, including the charge of political...

Seanad: Order of Business. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I am sure my colleague, Senator Ross, could help me in that regard. I am appalled that the great newspaper with offices on Middle Abbey Street is in the ownership of a septuagenarian man. This cannot be right. For God's sake, we cannot have newspapers run by fellows in their 70s. What is the country coming to? We should take a stand on the matter. I refer to the idea of having a Cabinet...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I fully support the arguments for having primary care centres but does this not represent taxpayer investment in a private institution? Have I misread what my Fine Gael colleagues have put forward? Does this not involve putting public money into a private hospital or health care system? I agree completely with all the argumentation on both sides of the House, especially that of Senator...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: There will be a loss to the taxpayer.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: It merely involves privatisation of an element.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Nursing homes are commercial operations. They are organised by big companies.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: With a change of Government.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: I support Senator Twomey's recommendation which is timely and important. The points made by the Minister of State are important. I do not disagree with the fundamentals of what he has to say. However, there are two other issues to be considered. The Government is having trouble finding money for the Limerick regeneration project. There are ongoing arguments in regard to whether it is...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: We are indebted to Senators Donohoe and Twomey on this issue. This is the kind of thinking we need in industry. In 1492, Columbus set out from Spain to find the Indies, as he thought, and he discovered the great continent of America, by accident. Many of the great developments have happened as a result of serendipity, finding something by accident. The best example is the discovery of...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: He sounds a bit like Senator Donie Cassidy.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage. (25 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: The claim about shifting from one company to another has been thoroughly addressed by Senator Donohoe. One of the problems that arises in assigning innovation to a Department is that people will think the matter can be addressed in one place. A Department with responsibility for innovation should simply be an additional extra to innovation taking place everywhere else. There is a...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (24 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: As Independents we never see the full picture but we would have thought the Opposition would share Fianna Fáil's happiness with the new Cabinet. Fianna Fáil is very happy with its new Cabinet and Fine Gael and Labour must be very happy because it is such a bad Cabinet, they will easily win the next general election. I thought we would come to the House today and everybody would be happy...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (24 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: We should have a debate on what is going on in Anglo Irish Bank. We should note what is going on.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (24 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: The progress on the investigations at various levels is welcome. It is worth noting that without making any comment on the people involved. There was much debate on the issue here and people were asking if anything was happening. We were assured that was the case. We now see that at least something is happening and we hope it will come to a conclusion. There is also the question of the...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (24 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed). (24 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2010 (Certified Money Bill): Second Stage. (24 Mar 2010)

Joe O'Toole: That is just not true.