Results 6,281-6,300 of 7,975 for speaker:Joe Higgins

Interdepartmental Committees. (21 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: I am trying to be helpful to the people I represent and who must go through this grind daily. The Taoiseach is proposing a new electronic tolling system costing over €100 million. I join with Deputy Rabbitte in asking the Taoiseach to lift those tolls immediately, so that we may see the problems that might emerge——

Interdepartmental Committees. (21 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: The Ceann Comhairle is being very unreasonable with me today. My last question has to do with infrastructural investment, particularly in the critical area of transport, which in Dublin city is one of the crucial problems confronting our people. Has it ever occurred to the Taoiseach that sometimes the solutions might be much simpler than they are made out to be? Is he aware, for example,...

Interdepartmental Committees. (21 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Does the Taoiseach agree that a pilot scheme should be introduced to run buses from the key areas of that very concentrated population centre? Uninterrupted bus lanes should be run into the city centre with sufficient buses and at a stroke we could remove thousands of private cars and bring people into the city by public transport in about half an hour. That does not require metros or...

Interdepartmental Committees. (21 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Why do they not leave them down to see where the problems will emerge?

Written Answers — Residency Permits: Residency Permits (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Question 222: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the status of a residency application for a person (details supplied) in Dublin 22. [6092/07]

Written Answers — Infectious Diseases: Infectious Diseases (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Question 347: To ask the Minister for Health and Children the extent of the prevalence of the clostridium difficile bacteria in hospitals here; and the measures she is taking to prevent patients becoming infected. [6376/07]

Written Answers — Services For People With Disabilities: Services For People With Disabilities (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Question 337: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if her attention has been drawn to the Development Plan 2007 to 2012 devised by Aspire, The Aspergers Syndrome Association of Ireland, which aims to address the deficiencies that currently exist as regards services for people with Aspergers syndrome; and if she will make funding available to enable implementation of this plan. [6322/07]

Order of Business (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Merchant ships between Ireland and England are grossly exploiting crew members and abusing them seriously.

Order of Business (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: I have. As we sit here, International Transport Federation inspectors are barricaded aboard the Merchant Brilliant.

Order of Business (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: This is most important for workers' rights. There are two proposed Bills, namely, the criminal justice Bill and the protection of employment Bill, under which the Government might move in an emergency fashion to protect the workers concerned.

Order of Business (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Does the Taoiseach have anything to say about the pirates plying the seas around this country?

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Could we have a modicum of honesty from the Government regarding the legal costs of tribunals? Last week, the Taoiseach's deputy, the Tánaiste, gave a brazen display of hypocrisy regarding the costs of the planning tribunal, posturing as a defender of the taxpayer and taking a leaf out of the Taoiseach's book of pretending to be the Opposition while holding responsibility for what is happening.

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Thanks to letters acquired from the Department of Finance by the Irish Daily Mail via freedom of information requests, we know that eight years ago, the Tánaiste, who was then the Attorney General, demanded of the Department of Finance a doubling of the daily rate of lawyers' fees in the planning tribunal.

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: The Department's officials stated the Taoiseach wanted the same and demanded full resources.

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: What do we know of the Tánaiste? In his three years as Attorney General, five years as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and, decades previously, time in the Four Courts representing his clients whenever he managed to take the silver spoon or silver foot out of his mouth, he commanded massive fees. We did not hear a peep about the ruinous cost of fees not only to tribunals,...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: ——and uncontrollable vocal emissions pour out.

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: When the Tánaiste goes on rant-about, would it be too much to ask media editors that rather than behaving like apostles on whom tongues of fire have descended when he speaks, they would bring some critical analysis to bear on what he says and check the record?

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Last week, they lost a golden opportunity to unmask a blatantly dishonest posture. Rather than encouraging further posturings by wall-to-wall coverage——

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: This is the same Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform who, three nights ago, stood up and dared to attack me and Independent Deputies as being supporters of a slump coalition. I would not worry about his sensitive nature.

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2007)

Joe Higgins: Does the Taoiseach take responsibility for the monstrous costs involved in these tribunals because he failed to curb them, does he admit that the scandal of cost was raised with him and the then Tánaiste, the Minister for Health and Children, many years ago by myself and other Deputies and what does he propose to do to allow the investigation into corruption, which must be unmasked, to...