Results 18,941-18,960 of 21,260 for speaker:Mary Lou McDonald
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 23: In page 27, lines 33 to 36, to delete all words from and including "maximum" in line 33 down to and including "and" in line 36 and substitute "cap of â¬60,000, and".
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 24: In page 28, lines 23 to 26, to delete all words from and including "maximum" in line 23 down to and including "and" in line 26 and substitute "cap of â¬60,000, and". Question, "That the words proposed to be deleted stand", put and declared carried.
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 25: In page 29, lines 47 and 48, to delete all words from and including "maximum" in line 47 down to and including "that" in line 48 and in page 30, to delete lines 1 and 2 and substitute "cap of â¬37,500, and".
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 28: To delete pages 33 and 34 and in page 35, to delete lines 1 to 20. Deputy Fleming has tabled an alternative amendment to this one. The crux of the issue is the difficulty with the fast accrual calculation. A lengthy exchange took place in respect of the fact that everybody under the new scheme will be less well-off in terms of their pension entitlement and it will...
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: There is still a Border.
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 12: In page 20, to delete lines 19 to 23.
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 16: In page 25, line 9, to delete "year for the pension, and" and substitute the following: "year for the pension, that amounts to no more than â¬60,000, and". This boils down to a straightforward proposition, that the pension payable to a public servant would be capped at â¬60,000. The amendments I have tabled propose to alter the legislation at various junctures to...
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: This is one of these old chestnuts that arise when one comes forward with a proposal to deal with the issues. I am focusing very specifically on the pension entitlements of very high earners because this is where the problem lies. Nobody in the world has an issue with public servants who have served their time and who have served their communities and the State being entitled to decent...
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, line 25, to delete "Act 1965." and substitute the following: "Act 1965; (d) section 6 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963; (e) section 7 of the Superannuation and Pensions Act 1963; (f) section 78 of the Local Government (Superannuation)(Consolidation) Scheme 1998.". This amendment seeks, in section 3, to include the repeal of sections 6 and 7 of the...
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I will make a short response because we have debated this at length. The Minister says he has received legal advice, which he has articulated. I assume it is from the Attorney General. I know it is not common practice, but it would be useful if the Minister would simply publish that advice to illuminate my position further.
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: It is the Minister's advice that counts because he makes the decisions based upon it.
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: Amendment No. 12 seeks to remove the subsection which provides, with some exceptions, for an obligatory retirement age of 70 years for public servants. Sinn Féin has consistently opposed any ratcheting up of the age at which a person would have the right to claim a State pension. We do not want people forced to work into their sixties and beyond if they chose not to do so for whatever...
- Public Service Pensions (Single Scheme and Other Provisions) Bill 2011: Report Stage (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: I move amendment No. 6: In page 19, to delete lines 1 to 8. The stated purpose of this scheme is to have a universal system for new entrants, in which there is merit. It makes administrative sense and there is a sense of equity, if one gets the scheme right, in a single scheme. However, the amendment seeks to delete the subsection under which special provision for Members of the Oireachtas...
- Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: It was there for the Taoiseach to see, but he appointed him anyway.
- Written Answers — Independent Child Death Review Group: Independent Child Death Review Group (10 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: Question 48: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs her plans for the Independent Child Death Review Group; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33335/12]
- Written Answers — Child Protection: Child Protection (10 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: Question 63: To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding the establishment of the National Child Care Information System; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33334/12]
- Constitutional Convention: Motion (10 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: When the Labour Party first mooted this notion of a constitutional convention, what was envisaged was more expansive than the proposal before the House tonight. Sinn Féin has constructively engaged in the convention process over the past number of months. We have met with the Taoiseach and we submitted detailed proposals of our own. It might interest Deputy Keaveney to know that...
- Constitutional Convention: Motion (10 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: When one proposes reforms and specifies those reforms, one should include those who have the highest stake and are most affected by the proposed change. That appears to be reasonable.
- Constitutional Convention: Motion (10 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: We have said to the Government that the methodology employed for identifying the citizen block certainly deals with geography, age and gender, but we proposed a much more sophisticated tool that could capture a much broader range of people. We went through that in some detail with the Government. It is worth noting that the programme for Government sets a specific context for reform. The...
- Freedom of Information (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012: Second Stage (6 Jul 2012)
Mary Lou McDonald: The introduction of application fees was a barrier to freedom of information requests, as borne out by the figures. In 2003, the last year before the fees took full effect, 7,216 non-personal requests were made. In 2004, after the fees were introduced, 3,191 non-personal requests were made. Therefore, the number of applications was halved. In 2002 the Department of the Environment,...