Results 141-160 of 375 for speaker:Margaret Cox

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: I came into this House in 1987 and I have had the greatest respect for everyone here. I would like to apologise in advance to the Leader. I am afraid I must propose for the first time from this bench an amendment to the Order of Business. It seems that at 3.30 p.m. we must accept legislation on ground rents from the Dáil, to be taken as an emergency measure with an earlier signature motion...

Seanad: Order of Business. (19 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: I have no wish to embarrass my colleagues or to press the amendment. I accept the Leader's bona fides but I still object to the treatment of this House. I will press an amendment to a vote the next time this House is treated in this way.

Seanad: Order of Business. (18 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: A state exists where innocent people are living in fear and anxiety, where one is guilty until proven innocent, and where banks and other financial institutions can wash their hands of situations into which they enticed people over the years. If I was to assert that the state in question was Ireland, would Members sit up and take notice? Are Members aware that all over the country, men and...

Seanad: Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004: Committee Stage. (17 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: I apologise to the Minister of State, as it was my intention to speak during the Second Stage debate and on Committee Stage today. Unfortunately, I was delayed coming to the House. I wanted to make some specific comments with general application that the Minister of State might consider before Report Stage. It might be valuable to introduce some amendments to deal with the issues. I know...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: This is a rerun of the relative poverty argument of the people with more money versus those with less. The problem will be that those with more money will feel hard done by and they will stop making it. We will then become a country of little widgets with no entrepreneurial skills and people feeling there is no need to strive to do better for their children, their children's children, their...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: I am pleased to welcome the Minister for Social and Family Affairs to the House. The ESRI report makes interesting reading. I recognise Senator Terry's knowledge and valid concerns in this area. However, coming from a business background, one issue of concern to me is the taking away of tax reliefs on pension saving schemes or PRSAs for those working and contributing part of their salaries to...

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: Unless there is a better way to market this, it will not work. Most people do not understand that for every €10 put into a pension scheme, this is subsidised by the non-taking of tax by the Government to the extent of 20% for those on the lower rate and 40% for those on the higher rate.

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: It does not.

Seanad: Pension Provisions: Statements. (11 May 2005)

Margaret Cox: Everything benefits those who have money.

Seanad: Competitiveness and Consumer Protection Policy: Statements (Resumed). (26 Apr 2005)

Margaret Cox: I welcome the Minister of State to the House and am pleased to contribute to the debate. I will address consumer protection later, as I would like to focus on the competitiveness issue, which is creating insecurity about the future of the economy on a daily basis. According to media reports of the recent IMI conference and various other conferences over the past number of months, the greatest...

Seanad: Accident and Emergency Services: Statements. (21 Apr 2005)

Margaret Cox: I welcome this opportunity to debate the issue of accident and emergency services as it gives us an opportunity to mention a number of other issues regarding the health service. The first issue I wish to address is the complaint that the health service is either overfunded or that health service funding is being improperly spent. If we were to examine health system funding today and what we...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion. (13 Apr 2005)

Margaret Cox: I am pleased to speak on the motion relating to special needs. The motion states that real progress has been made, particularly in the past five or six years. When we examine the opportunities currently available to children with special needs to move into mainstream education, we can see that is the case. They can be integrated into schools and become involved both at primary and secondary...

Seanad: Special Educational Needs: Motion. (13 Apr 2005)

Margaret Cox: As regards disadvantage, we are missing out on the holistic approach to dealing with the family issue of children with disadvantage. Unruly children may be dealt with in school, but their parents face the same challenges at home. Special funding is required, perhaps through a pilot scheme, to deal with the supports necessary for parents with children in school who have particular needs. We...

Seanad: Child Care Services: Motion. (9 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: While debating child care two weeks after a similar debate is welcome, and I am delighted Senator O'Meara tabled the motion, the sad aspect of Private Members' motions is the issues become political footballs. It is important for us once and for all to say our children and the future of child care will not be a political football. Perhaps I am naive, foolish and stupid but looking after our...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: I thank the Minister and his officials for coming before us today and on previous occasions to discuss the Bill. It is a tremendous achievement. We have had a very detailed discussion about pensions but we should not lose sight of the fact that this is the most significant piece of social welfare legislation that has come before us to date. Social welfare spending is at an all-time high. This...

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Report and Final Stages. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: At 2.30 p.m. tomorrow.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: Is it possible to amend the order?

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: As acting leader, is it not possible, with the agreement of the House, to amend the order to extend the debate by five minutes to deal with the one remaining amendment?

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: Yes.

Seanad: Social Welfare and Pensions Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (8 Mar 2005)

Margaret Cox: There is no proposal to amend the Order of Business.