Results 6,561-6,580 of 21,404 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald

Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: People do pay, just as they pay the Minister's wages.

Leaders' Questions (7 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: Like every Member of the Dáil, I am sure, I share the Taoiseach's wish that the debate be measured, informed, respectful and enlightening. That is our wish. For our part, we will do everything to set that tone. I appreciate the Taoiseach's comments in that regard. I appreciate that the Taoiseach does not want to make unforced errors or to rush but I have to put it to him that this...

Leaders' Questions (7 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: The Supreme Court has spoken and its decision is unanimous. Its judgment clears the way to advance the referendum on the repeal of the eighth amendment to the Constitution. I understand the Taoiseach had a correct concern for legal clarity before advancing the legislation and that, correctly, he did not wish to pre-empt or even create an impression of interfering or seeking to interfere...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: I too would like to hear something about the due diligence and metrics applied in terms of the compilation of Project Ireland 2040. It seems upon reading it that much of it was a restatement or rehash of announcements that had long been made and that people have been long awaiting. The Taoiseach spoke earlier about the weather event and the status red the country has been through. He...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: 11. To ask the Taoiseach when Cabinet committee D (infrastructure) last met; and when it is scheduled to meet again. [11220/18]

Ceisteanna - Questions: Programme for Government Implementation (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: 8. To ask the Taoiseach if he will report on the status of commitments in A Programme for a Partnership Government in respect of political reform. [11221/18]

Ceisteanna - Questions: Programme for Government Implementation (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: On that note, the programme for Government contains an important commitment on local government. The programme states:As part of the next wave of local government reform the relevant Minister, having consulted widely with all relevant stakeholders, will prepare a report for Government, and for the Oireachtas, by mid-2017 on potential measures to boost local government leadership and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: EU Meetings (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: On the additional seats in the European Parliament, is the Taoiseach open to the idea of people from the North of Ireland being afforded a seat and an opportunity for representation in the parliament given that everyone born on the island is entitled to Irish citizenship and, by extension, European citizenship? I commend that idea to him. I met Michel Barnier yesterday to discuss the...

Order of Business (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: That is good news from the Taoiseach. He has thought to hold a sitting on Friday and I am sure people will co-operate with that. I share the concern that we are on a very tight timeline in any event. We cannot afford any slippage. That is probably a concern across the House. If I understand the Order Paper correctly, however, the Taoiseach is asking us to vote for an order on Thursday...

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: I was very clear in my use of figures. I said it was a third of the additional moneys allocated for mental health.

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: So five by three is 15. Those were the additional moneys. That is a very clear demonstration of the Taoiseach's political priorities. This unit, by his choice and by design, resides within his Department. It is simply not an explanation for him to say that agencies at an arm's length are the accountable ones in terms of the use or misuse of public moneys. It does not work that way. The...

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: In the midst of all of this has been a very clear tactic on the Taoiseach's part, or officials or agencies on his behalf, to exploit the financial situation of regional media. That is not lost on people either.

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: The approach has been cynical. It has been underhand. The Taoiseach needs to stand this unit down and answer also the issue I raised with him on the Secretary General of his party - or of his Department, a Freudian slip perhaps - actually carrying out this independent review.

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: It is certainly not independent in that regard.

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: Martin Fraser, as I said earlier, is a person I know well and for whom I have great respect. Let me say this.

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: It is not me who has acted to compromise the position of a senior civil servant. That has been the action of the Government and the Taoiseach himself.

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----but about promoting the Taoiseach's party. It was not about news, but about propaganda. It was not done to benefit the people, but to benefit Fine Gael. The Taoiseach now says he has ordered a review of the unit-----

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----and has asked Martin Fraser, a person for whom I have the utmost regard, to carry out that review. However, the Taoiseach can hardly ask any of us to treat this as a credible proposition because, while I mean no disrespect to Mr. Fraser, was he not the person responsible for the oversight of the Taoiseach's spin unit in the first place-----

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----and central to its establishment? In no way could he be considered an independent assessor. It is, therefore, now time-----

Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)

Mary Lou McDonald: -----for the Taoiseach to wind down his strategic communications unit and I would go further-----