Results 1,201-1,220 of 4,085 for speaker:Dan Boyle

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: The Senator did not even know the Green Party was in government in Finland until a minute ago.

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: That is hypocrisy.

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion (29 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: The role of an Opposition in a democracy is essential. It holds the Government to account and challenges the efficacies of how policies are made and implemented. When successful, it can show that such policies are rushed or even plain wrong. When it is truly successful, it can show that those who are making those policies are incompetent and offer an alternative to voters in terms of how...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion (29 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: However, the Opposition also has a responsibility to make those challenges without stirring up unnecessary concerns among those most in need of protection.

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion (29 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: I have become accustomed to a lack of respect in recent days. As I said, the Opposition has a responsibility to ensure those arguments are made without stoking unnecessary fears among the most vulnerable and to do so in a way that is proportionate and reflective of the context. There is no doubt that we do not spend enough on education. There is no doubt that the decisions made in the...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion (29 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: What we must decide, in government in the first instance, is how that impact can be lessened and how we can get back, initially, to where we are now, before this decision was made, and how we can surpass it in terms of improving the quality of education. That will not be done on the basis of any Private Members' motion in this or the other House. However, I am confident that a debate will...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion (29 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: I am putting the issues into context. It will certainly not happen tonight, as the Senator is aware. I do not want to go back too far into history, but I am conscious that when the Opposition presents arguments in this way, it completely revises history. One of my first experiences as an elected public representative, when I was a city councillor, was my encounter with a woman whose...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion (29 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: The argument I am making is that we must talk about issues such as the educational rights of people with a disability in the context of ensuring we all share that responsibility. It is an issue beyond naked party political point-scoring. In moving this motion, I would have expected from the Opposition not merely criticism of the Government but also some type of critique which set forth how...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion (29 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: I expected the Opposition parties to outline how they addressed these issues when they were in government and how they propose to deal with them in future if they return to government. I heard no acknowledgement of responsibility for previous actions. I heard no vision for future Government participation. On that level, motions of this type are entirely bogus because they do nothing to...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: I am glad somebody paid attention to them.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: The decision to bring forward the budget date was made in the heat of international and national economic uncertainty. It was made on the basis of bringing about greater certainty and confidence in the economy. In doing so, several measures were introduced that were ill-thought out as regards their full consequences. I regret this. The ongoing debate on the budget, led through public...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: Every week there will be an issue du jour and some interest group will be affected by the nature of this country's finances. It is a responsibility of all of us in the political system to suggest how this country can work best.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: Responding to the point of the Opposition leader on incineration——

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: ——just to repeat, the policy of the Government is, in the words of the Minister, that incineration is not the preferred waste disposal option, and that continues to be the case. We await the result of an international review of best waste management practice and I hope that will inform decisions being made in areas like Rathcoole. I agree with, and point out, some of the areas about...

Seanad: Broadband Infrastructure Bill 2008: Second Stage (22 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: I welcome the publication of and debate on this Bill from Senator Shane Ross and his colleagues on the Independent benches. It identifies the key infrastructure we need to get right, especially if we are to meet the much talked about aspiration of becoming a knowledge-based economy, which I admit is a long way towards being met. Most of the criticisms made by Senator Shane Ross are quite...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Act 2008: Motion (17 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: ——which I believe should be restored. It is not something we can do in combination with the operation of this scheme because the scheme already contains a charge. We must look into the medium and long term so that the State can be recognised for the role it is playing in this instance. The role of the two directors who will account for the public interest has also excited some comment....

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Financial Support) Act 2008: Motion (17 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: The uncertainty that has accompanied the global economy since we sat all night in this Chamber two weeks ago has not abated to any great extent. It could be argued that the uncertainty has moved away from the financial sector and into the global economy. That we have taken time to put together the scheme and that it is being discussed in both Houses of the Oireachtas should be of benefit as...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: We will have opportunities during the debates on the Social Welfare and Finance Bills to go into the detail of the budget. If the Leader can arrange for the Minister for Health and Children to come into the House in the near future, it may help. A number of Senators referred to confusion, some of which has been caused by misleading statements.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: I am explaining why a debate on the budget might be useful.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Oct 2008)

Dan Boyle: Earlier, I heard on radio that if the Government is to effect €100 million in savings from the Estimates, it will be paid by pensioners. This cost will be borne by the members of the Irish Medical Organisation, who receive four times as much for treating patients under the medical card scheme for the over 70s as they do under the normal scheme. That is where the money will be saved.