Results 841-860 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole
- Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: On a point of order, I inform the House that Senator Mullen's motion was not born until after the leaders' meeting on Tuesday.
- Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: To beat an old drum, I again make reference to the talks taking place in Government Buildings between the social partners, the Government and the various other groups involved. I made the point yesterday that, in terms of the way we were engaging with the matter, talk of strikes, actions, etc. was part of the essential choreography and stage direction of these events and that this was not...
- Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: We need to see what we will happen in the future. Senator Fitzgerald mentioned "Morning Ireland". I had a spring in my step after listening to the programme this morning; I can only put it down to the fact that there was no economist on it for a full two hours.
- Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: No; there was no economist wearing an economist's hat. I will come to Garret in a second. It is important to recognise that the trade unions, the Government, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and everybody else needs to be informed of the reality of the situation. That is happening. I heard no one in the past two or three weeks argue about the fact that savings of â¬4 billion were...
- Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: Absolutely. Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Mortgage and Debt Support Measures: Motion (4 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: I propose to share time with Senators Twomey and Mullen. I found the reply of the Minister of State to be interesting and reassuring in ways. I do not agree with the Government motion. There could have been more movement towards the Fine Gael position. I refer to the call for the Government to establish an alternative dispute resolution system to deal with cases where people are unable to...
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: The question asked by a number of people recently is how we square the circle between the social partners and the Government. The Taoiseach and Deputy Bruton made some interesting comments over the past 24 hours in terms of showing that solutions can always be found if people are committed. The Taoiseach has obviously convinced the people with whom he is negotiating that â¬4 billion has to...
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: I presume there are four sides to the table because the unemployed and the community and voluntary pillar should also be represented. Ordinary workers and trade unionists want certainty and honesty. Once they can see an end to the crisis, it will be easier to get their support. However, the leadership of the trade union movement needs to be able to explain how we can end the pain.
- Seanad: Order of Business (3 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: It is interesting to note the European Union's prognosis for the next couple of years. It indicates that, whereas there will be no growth in Ireland again next year, the rate of growth in the economy in the following year will be greater than 2%, faster than anywhere else in Europe. I make this point because as talks continue between the social partners and the Government, it is very...
- Seanad: Order of Business (3 Nov 2009)
Joe O'Toole: We should sit down and work our way through it. Cuts must be made. However, we should listen to the trade union movement, ordinary people, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul and others who state we cannot look to the social welfare budget. Those of us in the public sector will have to take more pain than others. However, the process must also be seen to be fair. If we can enter a social...
- Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Business Plan: Statements (29 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh. I begin by saying "ditto" to the points that have just been made by Senator MacSharry. I am sure the Minister of State is as aware as we are that this is an issue of grave concern to people. Even though it is different from NAMA, in the people's minds both issues are being discussed together in that they are saying we are doing everything...
- Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: The acting leader of Fine Gael raised a valid point, that there should be a debate on this scenario of extraordinary industrial action by public service unions because there is, as he quite correctly put it, another point of view on this. It would be very helpful, even to the Government, to have this discussion for the simple reason that those working in the public sector, whether they be...
- Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: -----and destroying the miners' union.
- Seanad: Order of Business (29 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: The Senator should wait until he is in power.
- Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: I listened in recent days as the Minister for Education and Science turned statistics on their heads, getting away with murder in the process. It is important to set the record straight. This time last year there were no unemployed teachers in the State and the only way schools could secure substitute cover was by seeking the services of retired teachers in their areas. It was then that...
- Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: They should be paying 90% if fair was fair.
- Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: Is the Minister coming into the House?
- Seanad: Appointments to Public Bodies Bill 2009: Second Stage. (28 Oct 2009)
Joe O'Toole: I compliment Senator Ross on introducing this legislation. The Senator approached me some months ago outlining his concern about this area of work. He put his office working on researching what we might do about it and I did the same. We found a Bill that had been introduced in the other House. We said that we could not really use that legislation because it was a Green Party Bill. We...