Results 5,901-5,920 of 7,404 for speaker:Mick Wallace

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (22 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: I reserve the right to bring forward amendments to this section on Report Stage.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Fines (Payment and Recovery) Bill 2013: Committee Stage (22 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: I wish to seek permission to submit an amendment on Report Stage. I am of the view that increased use of the system of community service should be encouraged. The Bill favours the use of recovery and attachment orders and the use of community service appears to be the final alternative to imprisonment. I am giving notice, therefore, that I will be tabling an amendment to reverse the...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Commercial Rates Valuation Process (22 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: 28. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he intends to introduce in Dáil Éireann the urgently-needed legislation to deal with changes in the valuation system for commercial rates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2692/14]

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Coastal Erosion (22 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: 24. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the amount of funding that he will be making available for both emergency works, as a result of recent damage, and a more sustainable, long-term solution to tackle the serious problem of coastal erosion; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2693/14]

Topical Issue Debate: Prison Committals (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: It is about the principle-----

Topical Issue Debate: Prison Committals (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: There has been much denial about Ireland's role in facilitating the US war machine, but a WikiLeaks revelation from December 2007 showed the US ambassador congratulating the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr. Dermot Ahern, on his staunch rejection of the Irish Human Rights Commission's recommendation that the Government inspect aircraft suspected to have been involved in...

Topical Issue Debate: Prison Committals (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: Since 2001 we have facilitated the transport through Shannon of more than 2.5 million US and NATO troops and their munitions and supplies, primarily to engage in illegal wars based on fabricated evidence which wreaked havoc on societies in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hardly a day goes by in which we do not read about deaths in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya. We were told these countries were being...

Other Questions: Book Rental Scheme (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: I accept that the Minister gave money to schools that needed and deserved it, and that is a benefit. He also acknowledged the anger among schools. I received a letter from the principal of Mercy School Wexford, Pat Gately, who was going mad about the fact the school was under a great deal of pressure to set up the scheme. He deals with many parents from a lower socioeconomic background and...

Other Questions: Book Rental Scheme (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: 133. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review his decision to exclude primary schools with existing book rental schemes from the new €15 million investment in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2324/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: The caps and cuts in the past few years, which were imposed amid rising demand, have forced schools to spread SNA supports more thinly. In 2010, 13,000 children were accessing such supports. The number has risen to 15,000. Although the Government has maintained the funding, the Minister knows support has been thinned out because of the extra demand. A parent from Wexford wrote to me...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: Let me return to the issue of isolation rooms. I understand they were funded by the Department of some stage; I do not know how they could have been built otherwise. There are no national guidelines to govern their use. Boards of management are actually making the call on them and, very often, there are no parents associated with the ASD units on the boards of management. Decisions of...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: 126. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if 170 of the 390 new special needs assistant posts announced on 3 December 2013, were allocated before the end of 2013; when the remaining 220 posts will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2699/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Special Educational Needs Services Provision (21 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: Will the Minister tell us when the remaining special needs assistant, SNA, posts will be allocated? He is probably aware of reports of autistic children as young as eight years old being locked in so-called withdrawal rooms for hours without supervision. This is indicative of the consequences of imposing caps on special needs assistant resources.

Recent Severe Storm Damage: Statements (16 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: I acknowledge that it is very challenging for the State to have to deal with so many problems coming from so many directions as a consequence of the recent adverse weather. Most Deputies have spoken about problems in their area and I am obliged to report that Wexford was not spared. Coastal erosion is an issue that requires greater investment by the State. On Bannow Island, which is very...

Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: The Minister says that the amount of property held by REITs around the world tends to be small. However, given that such a bank of property is going to flood our market from NAMA and the banks in the next few years, that will probably not remain so here. The rationale behind REITs is to allow people to invest in property without having to manage it themselves. It is a stockmarket version...

Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: I understood that the original plan behind NAMA was that it would hold properties for a while, rather than flooding the market. Building work is starting again because there is a demand for certain types of property in certain areas where it is not available at the moment. In addition, there is too much property in places where it is not required. However, many large tracts of property...

Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: It is hard to grow.

Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: 6. To ask the Minister for Finance if any impact analysis has been carried out on the effects of real estate investment trusts on rental prices here; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1512/14]

Other Questions: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: The Government might view real estate investment trusts, REITs, as a quick fix measure to get rid of properties on the books of the National Asset Management Agency, NAMA, and the banks, but questions must be asked about the increased corporatisation of property, with little financial gain for the State. REITs are not taxed on their rental income as long as they pay 85% of it to their...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Real Estate Investment Trusts (16 Jan 2014)

Mick Wallace: 26. To ask the Minister for Finance the reason real estate investment trusts were introduced in Ireland, despite the fact that, according to budget 2013, they entailed a loss to the Exchequer of €14 million; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1511/14]