Results 1-20 of 81 for long speaker:Paul Gogarty

Water Utilities: Motion (13 Jan 2011)

Paul Gogarty: ...but even so, there are curtailments of water services every second night. During the freeze, people were cut off; in some cases, in areas close to the Dublin Mountains, they were cut off for even longer. The staff of South Dublin County Council worked diligently to get the necessary works done as quickly as possible, and the council's website provided information on what was going on. I...

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Paul Gogarty: ...of Social Protection. Therefore, there must be cuts in social welfare. The question then is whether those cuts should be to carers' allowances, blind people's pensions, old age pensions or long-term unemployment allowances. Someone must suffer. While I disagree that the very vulnerable should take the brunt, I feel an effort was made to try and make the cuts as equal as possible. I...

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Dec 2010)

Paul Gogarty: ...the vulnerable in the Social Welfare Bill and asked him to table his own amendments and to ascertain whether the money could be found from elsewhere in the Department. I will not go back into that long debate, but I believe there could be a little bit of tweaking. I had stated that if Deputy Ring-----

Social Welfare Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (9 Dec 2010)

Paul Gogarty: ...sides of the House that politicians need to show leadership and set an example. We have seen changes in salaries, such as in 2008 when Ministers first took their pay cut and last year when a new, long-overdue vouched system was introduced. Some might say it is still not good enough that the Taoiseach is among the highest paid in the world, and I would concur with that. All I would say...

Local Government (Mayor and Regional Authority of Dublin) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (17 Nov 2010)

Paul Gogarty: ...they are not needed, rather than in Dun Laoghaire where they are needed, or vice versa. One must have strategic vision in terms of the type of proper planning that has not happened in Dublin for a long time. In that context, the mayor can impact in a positive way on the city and county. As far as I can see the Green Party is the only party that is trying to engage with the public on this...

Education (Amendment) Bill 2010: Second Stage (Resumed) (13 Oct 2010)

Paul Gogarty: ...attempt by the Minister to get the VEC and Educate Together to look at the existing site in Clonburris. There are two sites in Clonburris but because the growth of Adamstown has slowed there is no longer a need to open schools on both sites. There will be only one site. There is, clearly, a demand for an Educate Together second level school and for a school to meet the needs of children...

Dog Breeding Establishments Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (8 Jul 2010)

Paul Gogarty: I welcome the Bill. Various amendments have been proposed and, to be frank, I do not care whether the provisions are inserted in this Bill or in the Greyhound Industry Act 1958, so long as they are put through. In the debate on a Private Members' motion last December, Fine Gael's Front Bench spokesman, Deputy Coveney, alluded to the issue of regulation thus: Light-handed regulation and cosy...

Civil Partnership Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2010)

Paul Gogarty: ...the nature of the amendments being proposed, the thrust of which I agree with. However, given what Deputy Mattie McGrath just said, the Bill cannot come too quickly. People have waited far too long for it to be passed. We had very thorough Second Stage contributions and we have plenty of time to discuss the issues and they are being discussed in a good manner.

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill [Seanad] 2009: Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2010)

Paul Gogarty: ...with much more influence and clout that will in most cases take over from the Minister so he has less direct influence, with the guidelines ensuring it is barely necessary to contact him. As long as elected members stick within the framework, there will not be a problem. It is fundamentally undemocratic to allow a small number of elected representatives to make decisions that have far...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill [Seanad] 2009: Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2010)

Paul Gogarty: I also referred to legitimate donations. As long as they exist - thankfully they will not exist for long - politicians can hide behind saying things like we need more housing and jobs, but they put them in the wrong place. That is what is wrong. Deputies Tuffy and Sherlock spoke about trust. The trust that the people invested in local representatives was broken because councillors put...

Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill [Seanad] 2009: Report and Final Stages (1 Jul 2010)

Paul Gogarty: If it is possible to insert the proposed provision in the Bill, I will support the amendment. I await the Minister of State's comments in that regard. For too long, the process of discussions between prospective applicants and unelected officials behind closed doors has cast an unwanted veil of suspicion. Despite the heated debates and discussions we have, I acknowledge that the vast...

Social Welfare and Pensions (No. 2) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (11 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: ...in, all of a sudden that person would probably be better off leaving his job, even with the pension security. If he has just started in the public sector and is on a low income, the pension is a long way off and he might say that this is a chance to get out if the offer comes for reductions in staff numbers. If pay is reduced in the public sector, social welfare must also be reduced and...

Civil Partnership Bill 2009: Second Stage (3 Dec 2009)

Paul Gogarty: ...disappointment for some who would have liked the Bill to go further. I empathise with the hurt and sense of dismay at what is after all only a partial validation of people and their humanity. How long we stay at this point depends on the will of those with the power to effect legal change or to at least give people the power to effect such legal change. While there are obstacles to full...

Written Answers — Long-Term Illness Scheme: Long-Term Illness Scheme (24 Nov 2009)

Paul Gogarty: Question 202: To ask the Minister for Health and Children if there is a policy regarding the non-recognition of myasthenia gravis, MG, on the long-term illness card scheme; if her attention has been drawn to the fact that at least 500 people here suffer from this form of muscular dystrophy, which is a chronic disease characterised by fluctuating levels of muscle weakness; her plans to review...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (18 Nov 2009)

Paul Gogarty: This debate has been long awaited in this House. It was debated in the Seanad over a considerable period. By that I mean it has been held up for several months. It was dealt with in the early spring and summer. I relish the opportunity to contribute to the debate because like every Member of the House I have been contacted by parents who seek to adopt children from overseas who are being...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: From the Seanad (12 Nov 2009)

Paul Gogarty: ...that whatever powers need to be applied should be put in place. I acknowledge it is impossible to make arrests and to charge people without firm evidence and that is probably why it has taken so long. However, as Deputy Rabbitte stated, this is no consolation to people who are on the streets protesting in anger and outrage at the budget cutbacks that must be implemented primarily, but...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Nov 2009)

Paul Gogarty: ...balanced approach to take. The banking system must be recapitalised regardless. The risk in terms of that recapitalisation versus the €7 billion over-payment on current market value versus the long term economic value is not too much of a risk. Deputy Ó Snodaigh mentioned other areas where money could be spent, including the Spirit of Ireland project. I understand that Spirit of...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Nov 2009)

Paul Gogarty: ...in if we get into the minutiae. Section 82(5) provides a concrete counter-balance to the abstract in terms of whether economic value will increase. It states: Where NAMA determines that the long-term economic value of the property comprised in the security for a credit facility that is an eligible bank asset is less than the market value of the property, NAMA shall not acquire the bank...

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Nov 2009)

Paul Gogarty: I was referring to people's practice of sticking a pin in a list of horses to decide which one to back. If one is trying to obtain a long-term economic value from this, in some ways what one is doing is similar to what will happen with NAMA.

National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) and Final Stage (5 Nov 2009)

Paul Gogarty: ...overturn the roulette table completely, which is what Mr. McWilliams advocates and which is what is contemplated under the Labour Party's plan for nationalisation. I wish to focus on the issue of long-term economic value. Regardless of whether we like those who are in charge of the banks or we think they got away with it and regardless of the fact that the citizenry is apoplectic with...