Results 18,241-18,260 of 24,567 for speaker:Róisín Shortall

National Recovery Plan 2011 - 2014: Statements. (25 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: The Government did not search very hard for alternatives.

Written Answers — Arts Funding: Arts Funding (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: Question 41: To ask the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport if she will provide minimum guaranteed funding for the Arts Council, to be administered on a contestable basis within a multi-annual framework, that is, provide 50% of its funding on a multi-annual basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44013/10]

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this Bill, although we were given very short notice. The Bill could be described as a mixed bag. Overall, the Labour Party supports and welcomes it. However, we have reservations regarding certain aspects of the Bill and we will deal with these by way of the introduction of amendments. The Minister referred to the level to which the cost of...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: It is because we have such a problem with unemployment that the cost of social welfare is so high. The massive numbers of people who have lost their jobs since this Government took office, the cost of retaining people on social welfare payments and the loss of tax revenue to which the increase in unemployment has given rise account for the huge gap of €6 billion in the public finances....

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: Perhaps the Minister will allow me to continue. I did not interrupt him. In the case of the promises that were made in the programme for Government to take action on the jobs front, the approach taken in respect of the relevant initiatives has been lacklustre. There has been no enthusiasm or energy regarding the initiatives to which I refer. For example, in the context of the Minister's...

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: How long more have I?

Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill 2010: Second Stage (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. FÁS, as an organisation, was let down by senior staff, such as Mr. Roddy Molloy and others, some of whom have left and some of whom remain in senior management positions. They discredited the organisation and were more interested in feathering their own nests, living a high lifestyle at the expense not only of the taxpayer but of unemployed persons who...

Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: I wish to comment on the bringing forward of the Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No. 2) Bill which would have clashed with the committee meeting examining the Estimates for the Department of Social Protection. If business is rescheduled there should be consultation with the Whips and the party spokespersons. This is no way to do business. We should have been afforded the...

Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: We should not have found ourselves in that situation, where there was such discourtesy to the Opposition spokespersons.

Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: A legitimate question was asked. We have the Order Paper for this week.

Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: I am asking why the Local Government (Mayor and Regional Authority of Dublin) Bill 2010 has been pulled. It had been on the schedule, we were due to debate it after the Order of Business but last night a decision was taken to pull it.

Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: That does not affect the business today. It could have been taken.

Order of Business (24 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: You have pulled it. You might do us all a favour.

Written Answers — Social Welfare Benefits: Social Welfare Benefits (23 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: Question 73: To ask the Minister for Social Protection his plans to allow far greater access to postgraduate study under the back to education allowance. [43858/10]

Departmental Schemes (23 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: Last August the Minister announced 10,000 new scheme places but three months later not a single additional scheme place has been provided. We heard much talk from the Minister throughout the year about various initiatives to help people access employment but, unfortunately, we have seen very little action. When does the Minister intend to establish this promised scheme? How does he propose...

Departmental Schemes (23 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: The Minister has had quite a bit of mileage out of this in recent months, that is, announcing various initiatives, including this one. Let us see some action. Can he put some meat on the bones of this? How many places does he intend to provide? We know that if one opens up new places on a voluntary basis, they will be hugely oversubscribed. That is the reality. The majority of people on...

Departmental Schemes (23 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: Not this year. Is that what the Minister is saying?

Departmental Schemes (23 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: On a point of order, nobody is arguing with the Minister about that. We are asking him about this promised scheme. He is supposed to provide 10,000 places.

Departmental Schemes (23 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: When will the Minister provide those places and will they be voluntary?

Job Creation (23 Nov 2010)

Róisín Shortall: Does the Minister accept that the transfer of FÁS staff to his Department provides an opportunity to set up a proper one-stop shop system for unemployed people? This seems to be the weakest link currently, as unemployed people cannot get basic information about available training schemes. Specifically, it seems there is nobody within the Department in a position to advise unemployed people...