Results 1,521-1,540 of 4,465 for speaker:Jim Walsh

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Jim Walsh: I do not wish to delay the meeting but would welcome a response to the two specific questions which I put to Dr. Mahony, namely, what changes does she believe legislation should engender in current medical practice or should we legislate for any particular changes and, if the Offences Against the Persons Act is repealed should any new legislation provide for a duty of care for the unborn child?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Jim Walsh: I will ask three brief questions. I thank the delegation for the clarity of its answers. My first question relates to the European Court of Human Rights decision in the C case. The evidence before that court was that the woman had been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer for three years, then went into remission and subsequently unintentionally became pregnant. What treatment would the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Jim Walsh: I agree that the medical guidelines are very clear, but none of my three questions was answered. The first concerns the distinction as Ms Spillane sees it between an abortion and the termination of a pregnancy by therapeutic intervention. What is the evidence base for suicide being used as a ground for termination? We are talking about today, not in 20 years time as medicine as evolved....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Jim Walsh: Can the Medical Council identify any deficiencies it has recognised in the current guidelines which need to be addressed? Under the guidelines the Medical Council recognises the distinction between abortion, to which Professor Murphy has referred, and a termination of pregnancy arising from the course of therapeutic intervention in which every effort is made to preserve the life of the baby....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Jim Walsh: On a point of order, Ms Luddy's submission is not yet available.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Jim Walsh: In the interests of being constructive, I suggest that we begin with the submission from the IMO.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Implementation of Government Decision Following Expert Group Report into Matters Relating to A, B and C v. Ireland (8 Jan 2013)

Jim Walsh: Will the Chairman confirm that copies of the submissions being discussed today are available outside the Chamber?

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: I ask the Minister to answer my point directly. Obviously, he and his officials have put a lot of work into the legislation. As he said, notes have been prepared on all 157 sections. Senators on this side of the House take their job seriously and have also carried out a lot of work on the Bill, but it has been proposed that we guillotine the debate almost at the start.

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: Will the Minister allow the debate to continue into the first or second week of January or until we resume next year?

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: Is the Minister prepared to do what I suggest?

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: I take the point. The Minister has made a credible argument in favour of why the Bill should be done before the finance Bill. I also welcome the Minister's receptiveness to any good ideas that might emerge. However, the problem is that we are on section 2 and there are 157 sections in the Bill. If we get another two sections done, it is probably as much as we can do. This means the Bill...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: I understand the point the Minister is making and I can go some of the road with him on it but he has not addressed the serious issue of people who are in great difficulty with mortgages. It was a feature of the Celtic tiger that many people bought or built very large properties and they will attract fairly significant property tax as a consequence. Some 29% of mortgage holders are in...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: In the run up to the budget, there was much discussion about fairness. The point made by Senator Harte can be easily undermined. For example, two people living in adjacent homes, one of whom is on a salary of 40% more than the other person and living in a rented property and will not be liable for the property tax and the other person, who is on the lower salary but is above the exemption...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (20 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: This is a fundamental plank in the Bill and I can see the motivation behind Senator Barrett's attempt to deal with the distortions in the market. Valuations of property will vary. Why was there no consideration given to regional guidelines on a square footage cost? In the past, the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government used to supply certificates of reasonable value...

Seanad: Finance (Local Property Tax) Bill 2012: Second Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: The Minister is doing the same thing Fianna Fáil was criticised for doing which is to follow pro-cyclical policies. If the country needs anything, it is assistance for growth. Households are submerged in debt. Some 29% of mortgage holders are in arrears or have had to make an arrangement with their bankers. This measure could be what tilts them over the edge. It fails to show an...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: She is supporting a totalitarian Government. That is what she is doing.

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (19 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: As the Minister is aware, the cuts in social welfare and their cumulative effect are a difficult issue for people on both sides of this House and for people outside the House who are struggling. I accept the bona fides of people here if they vote conscientiously whether for or against the Bill. It is very difficult for people to go against the party Whip. Senator James Heffernan has...

Seanad: Report of the Expert Group on the Judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland Case: Statements (6 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: I hope we are not going to do that.

Seanad: Report of the Expert Group on the Judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland Case: Statements (6 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: I respect the Minister of State's-----

Seanad: Report of the Expert Group on the Judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland Case: Statements (6 Dec 2012)

Jim Walsh: May I raise the issue of side effects?