Results 7,901-7,920 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Second Stage (20 May 2010)

Alex White: He will be very concerned about that.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Second Stage (20 May 2010)

Alex White: I will get back to the Senator on that later.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Alex White: I will wait for Senator Twomey to respond.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Alex White: The amendments make a lot of sense. A quarterly basis report from the European Commission to the lenders will be available in any event. The rationale behind the Fine Gael amendments is that the Minister should use this as a benchmark for reporting to the Oireachtas. There is a lot of merit to this suggestion, which runs through most of the amendments, although amendment No. 4 provides...

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Alex White: I do not think there is another Bill dealing with Greece, although presumably there will be more legislation in respect of the broader fund that is coming down the tracks. I am being led to some extent by Senator Twomey, as they are his amendments, but it would seem to be more satisfactory if the changes could be made to this Bill.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (20 May 2010)

Alex White: The Senator should be aware that there was a certain amount of shoe-horning of issues in the Second Stage debate earlier, which was quite entertaining.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Second Stage (20 May 2010)

Alex White: I counsel Senator Boyle against deploying too many ethnographic or cultural explanations for problems that particular countries may face. I understand what he was driving at, but at the risk of engaging in political correctness, Greece's location in the Mediterranean which is part of our Continent is not the full explanation for what has occurred there.

Seanad: Euro Area Loan Facility Bill 2010: Second Stage (20 May 2010)

Alex White: I will be supporting this measure. We all do, even the Minister, with certain reservations. Some two weeks ago when this loan facility was first introduced, it was suggested it was a godsend that the Government could lend to Greece at a higher rate than the rate it would have to borrow the money. I was glad this argument did not feature in the Minister's speech here or in the Dáil. I was...

Seanad: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Second Stage (19 May 2010)

Alex White: The Minister of State referred to practising politicians' experience of discussing with subcontractors their difficulties and real dilemmas. We are all very keenly aware of these. We would have to be on another planet not to be aware of the very genuine and serious problems people face. I refer, for example, to people who have abandoned their employment and whatever protections they had as...

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: The Minister of State accepts that additional staff are required. It is not unreasonable, therefore, for us to inquire as to how many new staff have been introduced to the system. I simply do not understand the delay in bringing forth the so-called soft information in vetting, something which has been promised for a good 18 months. In my presence the Minister of State indicated to the...

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: I am glad the Senator is not being political. It is a great relief.

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: Social workers.

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: Promised a year and a half ago.

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: It is a question of accuracy. Accuracy would help.

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: The Senator should be accurate.

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: Her statement was entirely inaccurate.

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: I am in almost complete agreement with what has just been said. However, politics enters the equation when we come to discuss the requirement to allocate resources, expand provision and fund changes and improvements to services. At its heart, politics relates to the allocation of public resources and the setting of priorities. As stated on previous occasions, I have never perceived debates...

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: When discussing reports of this nature, Members tend to make Second Stage speeches and engage in something of a rhetorical analysis. In circumstances where terrible tragedies have taken place and where undoubted gaps in provision have been exposed as a result of some of the awful events that have occurred, I am continually prompted to inquire as to what Opposition politicians can do. The...

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: I understand the difficulties involved.

Seanad: Ombudsman for Children Report on Children First Guidelines: Statements (19 May 2010)

Alex White: The Minister of State indicated he intends to take action. In such circumstances, it is not unreasonable for us to request that an objective timeline be put in place. Everyone would be interested in there being a greater degree of clarity. The question of recruiting 265 additional social workers has been invoked on many occasions.