Results 7,641-7,660 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: Seventy-two hours.

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: Seventy-two hours.

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: Now Senator MacSharry is talking.

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: While I do not want to misrepresent him, Senator MacSharry stated that it often occurred to him that this type of legislation ought to have been introduced before now, and I share his sentiments in that regard. He is absolutely right. On many occasions the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh, have sat here in this House. I must sit down at...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: If we are supposed to be doing this in a comprehensive way, let us put it into the legislation. That does not mean it will be invoked. We all very much hope that it can be avoided. Many respected commentators have stated not so much that they think it is a good idea, but that they believe it may be difficult down the road to avoid. Why can the Government not speak the Queen's English and...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: There was no reason to delay and it was damaging to do so. One could tick every box in respect of the contents of the section and none of the requirements is new. They all existed on the morning after 29 September 2008, if not in the weeks and months before that. Senator MacSharry did not refer to the next point as a criticism but he is correct in saying the biggest problem with this...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Stabilisation) Bill 2010: Second Stage (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: What is the correct figure?

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: I ask the Leader to arrange a debate early in the new year on four reports on special care units for children which were published yesterday by the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA. They make for disturbing reading and identify significant failings in four separate centres with regard to how they are managed and staffed and in the training of those running and working in them....

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Dec 2010)

Alex White: -----of such extraordinary and important legislation. I emphasise my point is not that the legislation is not important, rather it is the opposite. It is so important that it is wrong that the only people who appear to have debated these issues are the Minister for Finance, the Attorney General and, presumably, the Taoiseach.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (14 Dec 2010)

Alex White: I wish to share time with Senator Buttimer.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (14 Dec 2010)

Alex White: One of the features of this debate on the national minimum wage is the dearth of evidence on which the measure is based. A reference to the Forfás report, to which Senator Dearey referred, appeared in the Minister of State's speech. Perhaps Senator Dearey was going a little too far, even from the point of view of his own argument, when he said Forfás had confidently predicted job creation...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (14 Dec 2010)

Alex White: Is that as a result of the national minimum wage coming down? I will have to check. Senator Dearey has said Forfás confidently predicts that the €1 reduction from €8.65 to €7.65 in the national minimum wage will lead to job creation. With all due respect to my colleague, I very much doubt if it has stated this because one thing is certain: if the Minister of State had such a clear...

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (14 Dec 2010)

Alex White: The Minister of State is not saying that often enough. I want him to say it more often.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (14 Dec 2010)

Alex White: As in the case of the homecare packages.

Seanad: Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (14 Dec 2010)

Alex White: What about homecare packages?

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2010)

Alex White: On the budget, there are many injustices. I want draw attention to one, in particular, the impact of the cut in child benefit on the poorest families. Child benefit was also cut last year, but some compensatory measures were taken to protect the children of poorer families. Why have no compensatory measures been taken this year? Presumably, the Social Welfare Bill 2010 will be before the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2010)

Alex White: If anything the Government does is criticised, the Senator's answer is that we would do the same in government. Is this the level of politics at which the Green Party has arrived?

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2010)

Alex White: I have a second question, on the important issue of the future of this and the Lower House. We deserve clarity, not just rumour. The airwaves have been full of rumours following the announcement of the leader of the Green Party on 22 November that it was time to have a general election and that it should be held in the middle of January. On the same day the Taoiseach stated: "It is my...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2010)

Alex White: Just answer me.

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Dec 2010)

Alex White: For goodness sake, the Senator should listen to himself.