Results 17,381-17,400 of 19,173 for speaker:Shane Ross

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: At times such as this, we all must try to play a constructive, not a destructive, role and try not to be overly critical of what is happening and what has happened. In a serious crisis, it is not helpful to come in and kick at an open goal, at a Government or Department of Finance which are both a kind of beaten docket at this stage anyway. I will try not in any way to play the blame game...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: Of course, but it is irrelevant if we do not have the biggest figure for what we will be paying annually to someone else. That will be far more important than these other cuts. The difference between 4% and 7% is enormous. The Minister of State should not shake his head. It is enormous in this context.

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: I could not agree more, but sovereign debt and bank debt are the same thing, as the Minister of State knows perfectly well. If the Government is servicing the bank debt, it will come out of the taxpayers' pockets. It is the same thing in the end. The Minister of State is just playing semantics and talking technical nonsense. At the end of the day, it will come out of our pockets and will...

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Statements (24 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: It could be made up in many other places. The Minister of State knows where it has been done. He will have time to answer the question which is a fair one. Why, in the name of God, does the plan not have a programme for a sale of State assets? If we are in such an appalling situation economically and given that the ESB is worth €8 billion and Aer Rianta, €1 billion, why did the...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: I was struck by the attitudes of some Members of the Opposition. It is time they started behaving like a Government because they will be in government in a short period. It is time that everyone present considered the extraordinary dangers of defeating the budget. Today is not the right time to discuss blame. There will be and there has been plenty of time for that. If the budget is...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: They will be changing sides in a few weeks. Responsibility has been transferred from that side to this side.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: This side should be discussing how to get a budget through, not how to defeat a budget or to impose a vote of confidence. We know what the result of the election will be, so it is important we do this and not damage the national interests.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: I plead with Opposition Members to take this stance, particularly given that Ireland is in the eye of the storm. Our nation is being looked at as the one that can stop the collapse of the entire European monetary system. We have a responsibility that goes far beyond the type of play-acting that exists in this House. I ask those on this side of the House to behave as though they are the...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: The frustration felt by Members about the Croke Park agreement is alarming. I agree with everything Senators Walsh, MacSharry, O'Toole and others said. Although what Mr. Kieran Mulvey said this morning on RTE was a departure for a senior member of the LRC, it was a little too gentle. He said that if nothing was done within six months, the situation would be serious, but that showed a...

Seanad: Seanad Reform: Motion (3 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: I endorse what Senator O'Toole said and congratulate him on tabling this motion. I do not agree with every detail in it but the thrust of what was said about the need for Seanad reform and dramatic change is indisputable. I will not go over old arguments but the Seanad is in serious danger of extinction. That is because the main Opposition party has said that if it gets into Government, it...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: I wish to point out, as most Members are aware, a very large march on Leinster House will take place today with perhaps 20,000 or 25,000 students. I know all politicians are coming under pressure about special pleading at present, particularly on education, hospitals and every particular area. There is a tendency when we talk about expenditure on education to look on it as current...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Nov 2010)

Shane Ross: We should note one thing, and it is not necessarily palatable to Members of the House, but much of what we have left in this economy - the engine of this economy - is down to multinationals. The energy in this economy at present is down to multinationals as is much of the hope in the economy. They will seek two things: the retention or reduction of the rate of corporate tax and an educated...

Seanad: Macro-Economic and Fiscal Outlook: Statements (28 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: I wish to share time with Senator Harris in a proportion of nine to three.

Seanad: Macro-Economic and Fiscal Outlook: Statements (28 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: I was interested in the last paragraph of what the Minister had to say because he appeared to touch on a change in attitude which is the first encouraging thing I have heard in his speeches. He admitted two things. He drew attention to the power of Europe and the markets. In both cases he tipped a forelock to those two powerful elements. That is realistic and a reflection of what has been...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: I am reluctant to address Senator Mary White in response to what she had to say to me.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: I am reluctant to address the matter because-----

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: I make a declaration of interest. I am worried about addressing the subject and responding to Senator White. I have an interest in that I might have received enough chocolates from her to put me above the threshold for making a declaration in the Houses.

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: I think I have come very close to the €500 limit. I do not know if anybody else-----

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Oct 2010)

Shane Ross: I do not know what Senator White expects from these benches of the ballooning egos and, if we are not careful, ballooning bellies, but I am grateful to her and she is right. We were talking during her contribution and it was probably inappropriate and out of order. In that sense I am sorry. I will still regard her presidential campaign in the same light as I did previously.