Results 1,901-1,920 of 4,810 for speaker:Liam Twomey

Seanad: EU-IMF Programme for Ireland: Statements (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: It is unusual we are having statements on the EU-IMF programme for Ireland after the so-called Celtic tiger of recent years. We have pumped billions of euro into Irish banks, yet the Minister of State is talking about an additional 10,000 loans from Allied Irish Banks and the Bank of Ireland, valued at €16 billion, being transferred to NAMA. This means the average value of each loan is...

Seanad: EU-IMF Programme for Ireland: Statements (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Fair enough. Reference is made in the plan to reforming the social welfare system and reducing social welfare payments. It appears this will lead to savings of €750 million, which equates to a 4% cut in the social welfare budget. If the Government is intent on protecting old age pensioners, there will be significant cuts for other social welfare recipients in next week's budget. The...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: That must be responded to.

Seanad: Tributes to Member of Staff (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: On behalf of myself and Fine Gael I wish Shay the very best for the future. He has had a bird's-eye view of Irish political history over four decades and he has watched those of us on temporary contracts coming and going. No doubt he will have many stories to tell because I have often seen his face in the background of many of those prominent photographs taken of people exiting these...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: Given the dreadful economic and weather conditions and the fact that we are less than a week away from what will be the harshest budget in the history of the State, I will break from my usual format of criticising this dreadful Government and speak only about positive matters. Last night I had reason to ring a number of people in County Wexford which has seen the most dreadful snowfall in...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Dec 2010)

Liam Twomey: The House should also commend local authority workers, gardaí, ambulance crews, doctors, public health nurses and all other health care professionals who are caring for patients and doing their jobs on behalf of the people in what are dreadful weather conditions.

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Motion (30 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: I am a bit surprised by Senator MacSharry's last comment. He might have completely missed the fact the IMF was here and is telling us what to do. We have already dug up that pitch.

Seanad: National Recovery Plan 2011-2014: Motion (30 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: We have ploughed up the pitch. The only way any plan for the future will work is if we can improve growth, create jobs and increase competitiveness across all sectors of the economy. The IMF has acknowledged that great work is being done by the private sector and some sections of the public sector to improve competitiveness and the ability to grow in the future which, in turn, will lead to...

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

Liam Twomey: There is a certain amount of detail in this report and, like most Members, I have only had the opportunity to go through it briefly. The report also contains a significant amount of waffle and postponement of the rainy day. It pushes certain matters forward to a time when the Government will be a bad memory for the majority of the people. According to Ministers this afternoon, this report...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Eligible Liabilities Guarantee) (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme 2010: Motion (17 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: The Minister of State should tell us what is going on. The Government has become unstable and lost the confidence of the people. International investors have abandoned Ireland and there is a crisis of confidence in the European Union regarding the Government's ability to fulfil its mandate. In the same way that lions circle a wounded beast, speculators are circling Ireland's economy and...

Seanad: Credit Institutions (Eligible Liabilities Guarantee) (Amendment) (No. 2) Scheme 2010: Motion (17 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: I am surprised the Minister of State did not refer to the events unfolding in the European Union which will have a great impact on how we access funding in the future. Ministers were describing these events as fiction over the weekend but now that they are rapidly becoming facts no one in Government circles appears willing to discuss them. The Minister of State should have alluded to what...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: The Leader could decide to do it.

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: The words of Professor Patrick Honohan are listened to with great interest both in this country and abroad. At an Oireachtas committee meeting yesterday he made some telling remarks which are worthy of debate in this House. One of the most interesting remarks he made was about the difficulties encountered in finding a solution for householders in negative equity and struggling with huge...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: I will be brief. Interest on Government bonds is now in excess of 8%. If Ireland is to survive, it must be able to borrow money at the rate of 5% or less. For the past six months, Irish banks have failed to borrow any money from international investors. All our borrowings are now coming from the European Central Bank. Ireland will have to borrow €40 billion over the next three years....

Seanad: European Council: Statements (9 Nov 2010)

Liam Twomey: I have just come from the Institute of International and European Affairs, IIEA, which was packed to the rafters with people who had come to listen to the European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, Mr. Olli Rehn. I am sure the Minister of State, Deputy Roche, is well aware that when European Commissioners came to the IIEA to make speeches or give lectures on previous occasions,...

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

Liam Twomey: The Minister made an interesting speech today when one considers the speech made by the Minister for Finance, Deputy Brian Lenihan, 11 months ago. I sat in the Dáil and listened to him make his Budget Statement last December in which he said we had turned the corner, although we appear to have run straight into a big cement truck. Today's speech is a completely different outlook from what...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2010)

Liam Twomey: I welcome the statements on the child care inquiry report. As one who deals with social workers on child care issues, I fully understand this area can be extremely emotional, especially when there are family problems between parents. It can be very stressful for both the social workers and the families involved and is fraught with ethical and legal problems. Rather than the House merely...

Seanad: Hospital Services (27 Oct 2010)

Liam Twomey: I am concerned about the way health services are delivered in County Wexford. This ties in with the issues raised on the Adjournment by the two previous speakers. The general manager of St. Vincent's University Hospital wrote to general practitioners in County Wexford to state the hospital was no longer in a position to see public patients from the county. That means patients who require...

Seanad: Hospital Services (27 Oct 2010)

Liam Twomey: I guarantee the Minister of State that I will continue to pursue the matter until I receive a straightforward answer. I am not finished yet. Given what I said, how could the Health Service Executive write such rubbish? Is the reference to "in a more timely manner" made in the context of a patient travelling between Gorey and Cork, or is it made in the sense that instead of having to wait...

Seanad: Hospital Services (27 Oct 2010)

Liam Twomey: I appreciate that.