Results 41-60 of 4,608 for speaker:Joe O'Toole

Seanad: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Mar 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I wish the Government had been so amenable over the past five years.

Seanad: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Mar 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I pay tribute to Senator Quinn and the work he has done on the Bill. I am pleased to have played a small part along the way. It is crucial to view the passage of the Bill in this House as a recognition of how good work can be done. I also pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Dara Calleary, and appreciate the commitment he has shown in coming to the House. He could have been doing...

Seanad: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Mar 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I have no doubt the Minister of State is correct. It is very difficult to go to an adjudicator and expect his or her decision to be completely binding at all times. The adjudicator could make a mistake in some cases and this must be allowed for. I agree with the point that the process should be quick and this would be the most attractive option but I do not think it can be done as simply...

Seanad: Construction Contracts Bill 2010: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Mar 2011)

Joe O'Toole: In support of the points made by Senator Quinn, I take on board what people said earlier. The Irish are very litigious by nature and we tend to go right up the line if there is another option. If arbitration or court proceedings are options, we will go to the limit, but that is an option that runs out. I am well aware of the figures Senator Quinn just mentioned. Britain could teach us a...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (8 Mar 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I am privileged to add to what has been said and offer from the Independent benches our condolences and sympathy to the family of the late Willie Farrell and Fianna Fáil. I remember Willie for his argumentative nature and because he was always willing to take up a challenge. He never let his party down and Fianna Fáil could do no wrong, although in private he might say if it had acted in...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I support Senator Regan's recommendation. In its report for 2000 the Committee of Public Accounts discovered there was a problem with the relay of information from different groups. The legislation at the time was interpreted to mean that the Central Bank could not share information with the Revenue Commissioners and that the Revenue Commissioners could not share it with the Garda. When I...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Report and Final Stages (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I second the recommendation. We have had a long debate on the civil partnership issue over several years. Finally, we took the step which we all welcomed and provided for it legislatively. I do not propose to rehearse all the arguments from that stage. The implementation of that legislation became important and it was believed any issues arising would be dealt with in the course of this...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Report and Final Stages (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Report and Final Stages (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I support the recommendation. As we discussed it at length this morning, I will not rehearse the arguments. The Minister will recall that I said I had a difficulty with the workability, not the objective, of the original recommendation. Senator Alex White pointed this out too. I am particularly pleased that this recommendation refers to the details of the bonuses paid, which I consider...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I fully support the points made by Senator Regan. I generally support powers for the Revenue Commissioners but, and the Minister can correct me on this, a number of issues arise from this. One is the constitutional provisions on private property. How can one attach somebody's salary without going through a process, usually a court process? I do not know whether issues such as errors in...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: Where does it state that it is only as a last resort?

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I want to make two points. We pick up our newspapers day after day and see that it has taken three years for the State under the Criminal Assets Bureau to get attachment of Mr. Gilligan's property. It has to go through all sorts of hoops to do that. Any professional body, say, the Medical Council, that wants to strike off or deprive somebody of his or her salary must go to the High Court...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: Nobody is disagreeing with that.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: For the past 15 years Europe has been trying to deal with the issue of pension liability in every estate. There has not been a year in the past 15 in which we have not examined it. Its importance was acknowledged by the Minister's own party in Government with the establishment of the National Pensions Reserve Fund to deal with these issues. It was also acknowledged by bringing in schemes...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: Effectively, he would be saying "I told you so" to people in that this is an example of an issue which will create problems, is a disincentive to Government policy and to European policy and we have, within our grasp, the opportunity of dealing with the problem in a way which meets everybody's requirements. It is a cross-party position. Everybody would agree with it. We all agree the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed). (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I recognise that the Minister of State has given us several dates. I trust he will correct me if my understanding of the matter is wrong. However, I understood that last year or the year before we changed the date of the return of capital acquisitions tax to a date in October as a tidying up operation and to ensure the two dates coincided. The argument from the Department at the time was...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: On a point of order. I do not wish to be unmannerly but I am conscious of time. The proposer has responded so the recommendation should be put now.

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: First, I do not believe it is in company law and, if it is, the relevant section in the 2003 Act has not been commenced. There is much merit in this recommendation. Despite the fact that the Minister said it might not be relevant, I noticed he took the opportunity in his speech on Second Stage yesterday to make a passing reference to his relationship to the bonus scheme. He can hardly...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (Resumed) (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: Let me talk about abolishing it. That is a little like the Minister's response to the last recommendation. Nobody is saying all property tax reliefs are bad. Bonus schemes are good, but badly implemented bonus schemes are bad. That is the problem. It is not just the bonus scheme but the points that were dealt with by Senator Boyle. Incidentally, I have raised this with at least half the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2011 (Certified Money Bill): Committee Stage (29 Jan 2011)

Joe O'Toole: I do not know how people can manage to turn logic on its head to such a degree but having listened to the two speakers on the Government side, and Senator Cassidy in particular, I agree with everything they said but I thought they were making the argument in favour of the recommendation. Everything they said is an argument in favour of the recommendation. It is the reason I am supportive of...