Results 5,481-5,500 of 7,652 for speaker:Joanna Tuffy

Environmental Policy. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: The director may have thanked the Minister but she was just being polite because she was also critical when she said we were not making headway on the environment. That is a major criticism if we have a Green Party Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. No progress has been made on climate change. Nothing in the carbon report could be pinpointed. The 1% reduction has...

Environmental Policy. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: I did not know I was in government.

Environmental Policy. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: No, I was not. That is not true.

Environmental Policy. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: That is not a fact.

Environmental Policy. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: I said there are legal problems, which have come to pass.

Environmental Policy. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: We still do not have that change.

Environmental Policy. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: The Minister did not have the courage for a carbon tax.

Local Government Reform. (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: Will the Minister commence the section of the Local Government Act that allows towns to set up what were town commissions and are now called town councils? This has not been commenced since the legislation was enacted. Many towns want to do so.

Financial Resolution No. 15: (General) (Resumed) (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: James Connolly, the founder of the Labour Party, appealed to those "whose interests are always on the side of progress". Progress was a word he used a lot. Many people would agree that the older people and students who protested yesterday and the teachers, children and parents who will protest next week are standing up for progress. The reduction in class sizes, universal access to medical...

Financial Resolution No. 15: (General) (Resumed) (23 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: No it has not, as the statistics demonstrate. The Minister of State should read the Clancy report on access to higher education. The provision of better health facilities and good public transport would be progressive moves. If we had made more progress with regard to infrastructure, as other countries did, over the past ten years when we had the money, we would all be more protected in...

Morris Tribunal: Statements (Resumed) (22 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: In describing the strong action taken on this matter, the Minister referred to significant recent reforms of the Garda Síochána, including the establishment of the Garda Ombudsman Commission. He stated: "Thanks in large measure to the findings and recommendations of the Morris tribunal, we now have a system of oversight in place to ensure, as far as humanly possible, that the abuses...

Morris Tribunal: Statements (Resumed) (22 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: This is relevant in that it relates to the Garda Ombudsman's office, which was set up by the Minister because of the Morris tribunal — and this relates to that.

Morris Tribunal: Statements (Resumed) (22 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: There is an issue concerning the Garda Ombudsman's office and how it operates now. The issue of concern to the parents of Derek O'Toole was the incident that led to the death of their son and the handling by the Garda of the subsequent investigation. The parents are motivated because they would like to know what happened on the night in question and whether the incident was properly dealt...

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (21 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: Question 148: To ask the Minister for Social and Family Affairs the instructions given by her or her officials to community welfare officers in respect of refusing mortgage interest supplement in the circumstances in which the applicant had overstated their income. [34885/08]

Written Answers — Garda Stations: Garda Stations (16 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: Question 52: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the steps he will take to provide a new full-time Garda station in Rathcoole, County Dublin; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35318/08]

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (16 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: Question 111: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the number of staff employed by An Bord Pleanála; if his attention has been drawn to the delays in processing appeals; if he will allocate additional staff to an Bord Pleanála to alleviate the problem; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35259/08]

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (16 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: Question 118: To ask the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government the breakdown of expenditure in respect of carbon offsets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35319/08]

Financial Resolution No. 14: EXCISE — Mechanically Propelled Vehicles (14 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: The Minister has acknowledged this is just a money-raising measure while at the same time trying to play the green card, as he did last year. To get the benefit of the new rating introduced in July, one has to be in the position to buy a new car. The point I made on last year's budget still applies. When the Minister talks about changing driver behaviour, he is actually talking about...

Financial Resolution No. 14: EXCISE — Mechanically Propelled Vehicles (14 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: An increase will be imposed on large public service vehicles which are used only for the carriage of children. If the Minister was serious about a green measure, those are the class of vehicles which should have had their motor taxes reduced. The 8 cent increase on petrol is actually the carbon tax which the Minister referred to in his survey on carbon taxes earlier in the year.

Financial Resolution No. 14: EXCISE — Mechanically Propelled Vehicles (14 Oct 2008)

Joanna Tuffy: The Minister has disassociated himself from that particular carbon tax. Why? It is because it will place a large burden on the average family. For all the talk about carbon taxes, the Minister will not admit to the very carbon tax in this budget. As a Green Party Minister, if he really wanted to tackle carbon emissions from the transport sector, why is the Minister allowing the Department...