Results 541-560 of 4,465 for speaker:Jim Walsh

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: Is dócha go mbeadh an leasú seo an-tábhachtach don Bhille atá os ár gcomhair inniu. I would like to commend Senator Barrett on this amendment. A plebiscite on the ownership of Irish Water is essential if water is to remain within the ownership of the Irish people. I said on Second Stage, and would have said again on Committee Stage, that I am certainly not enamoured...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: I made much reference to Bord Gáis during this debate, because it is the body in which Uisce Éireann has been placed as a subsidiary. If we look at the ESB, though, the average salary there as of about six years ago was €70,000 per year. If one compares this with any other industry one will see a huge disparity. During the terms of the last Dáil and Seanad I was a...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: It is a question that needs to be asked.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: The Minister will respect the fact we will be extremely anxious to ensure this will not become a private monopoly. If we had gone down the route of trying to engender competition, it would control costs because this is generally the recipe for keeping costs right. A suggestion we made, which was not examined at all, obviously, was to have an overarching body which would have ensured...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: If this had been done at the start, we would not have had the uproar we do among the public, who have been burdened with so many costs. Continuing the campaign on water charges is totally misguided. The most unfair tax we have is the universal social charge. When it was introduced, the Fianna Fáil Minister at the time stated that when the fiscal position improved, it would be the first...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: Cuirim fáilte ar ais roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach. Mar a dúirt sé féin, bhí sé ina Theachta sa Seanad ar feadh téarma amháin. Ansin, blianta ó shin, chuaigh sé go dtí Parlaimint na hEorpa. I welcome the Minister and thank him for what was a comprehensive outline of the difficulties he inherited when he entered office. I would...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: Is it any wonder people are so enraged over such political cynicism. I understand that when the Water Services (No. 2) Bill was being debated in the Dáil, it was guillotined after three hours. Since the inception in 2011 of the Government of which the Minister, Deputy Kelly, is now a member, its hallmark has been the use of the guillotine on many occasions. Consequently, many issues...

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: Let me outline where I stand personally. In 1983, Dick Spring, the then leader of the Labour Party, introduced domestic water charges for the first time. I was a member of Wexford County Council at the time. We would have had water charges within the rural area but never within the urban area. As I stated on the last occasion, I did not have a principled objection to a reasonable charge....

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: Is it possible to have a copy of the Minister's speech?

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: Yes, but we have not got it and the Minister of State is getting into his speech.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: In fairness, the spokespersons who are replying-----

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: Please suspend.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: I suggest the House suspend for five minutes to allow us get copies of the script.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: In future there should be some communication from the office. It is not good enough that we have to copy speeches. Whichever Department is involved should arrive with copies of speeches.

Seanad: Water Services Bill 2014: Second Stage (18 Dec 2014)

Jim Walsh: I would say the Minister is.

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Nov 2014)

Jim Walsh: I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Thomas Byrne. I support the comments of Senator Fidelma Healy Eames on the need to take a radical and close look at ensuring our taxation system encourages entrepreneurship and investment, in addition to a work ethic, across the country. The current application of the universal social charge does not do this. We had a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Situation in Syria and Middle East: Dr. Nader Hashemi (19 Nov 2014)

Jim Walsh: I find this enlightening, as other members will. It is a very good insight into the situation. It appears mystifying that a very fragmented opposition to Assad, at one stage comprising 14 disparate groups, emerged as a dominant force ahead of al-Qaeda. From what Dr. Hashemi says, it appears to be the dominant force there. On the other hand, he advises that we should support the other...

Seanad: Adoption (Identity and Information) Bill 2014: Second Stage (19 Nov 2014)

Jim Walsh: Like others, I commend the three Senators who introduced this Bill. As Senator Barrett mentioned, it is a good example of cross-bench collaboration, placing the Seanad in a different light than the unfortunately dysfunctional Dáil. It is also good that we have Senator Power, who has shown great courage in giving testimony on her circumstances, Senator van Turnhout, who has operated in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Situation in Syria and Middle East: Dr. Nader Hashemi (19 Nov 2014)

Jim Walsh: I thank Dr. Hashemi for his very interesting and insightful paper. I have a number of questions. What is the mindset of a significant minority of Islamists or Muslims that leads them to such barbaric atrocities being committed? I remember reading a book many years ago about Mohammed. Not only was he a prophet but he was a military leader of the day. Is there an undercurrent within that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: Situation in Syria and Middle East: Dr. Nader Hashemi (19 Nov 2014)

Jim Walsh: I want to follow through on this thread. I would go some of the way with Dr. Hashemi's view, but many of those who are fighting in this conflict come from the western world. Some of them are converts to Islam. Some of his prognosis does not answer that.