Results 421-440 of 31,123 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Will the Leader arrange a debate on competitiveness in the next session? The report by the Central Statistics Office on pricing that was published yesterday made for interesting reading. It showed that prices in Ireland have fallen by nearly 5.5% compared with last year. That is the fastest rate of decline of any country within Europe and shows the changes taking place at the moment. Two...

Seanad: OECD and IMF Reports: Statements (10 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I have no doubt that in years to come when people ask what the Government did about the great recession that gripped Ireland, historians will write that the Government caused most of it. I heard Senator Hanafin criticise the performance of the Opposition, but the Government will not produce its own plans until October at the earliest. Despite the fact that it has received Mr. McCarthy's...

Seanad: OECD and IMF Reports: Statements (10 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: -----to allocate the responsibility for creating NAMA to the former Taoiseach. The IMF report has quite a bit to say about the implications of that agency. The phrase used is as follows: "If well managed, the distressed assets acquired by NAMA could, over time, produce recovery value to compensate for the initial fiscal outlay". The report adds that when the Irish authorities were pressed...

Seanad: National Cultural Institutions (10 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome to the Minister and thank him for attending in person to respond. I seek clarification regarding the status of the various national galleries and the plans, if any, the Minister has to integrate them. I am a major fan of all the galleries, in particular, the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, IMMA, which has done a magnificent job in recent years in presenting its permanent...

Seanad: National Cultural Institutions (10 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for his response. He stated: "the rationalisation of the support or back-office functions within complementary national cultural institutions is not an optional consideration at this time and must be undertaken". I could not agree more and clearly we must examine all these aspects. I take great heart from the Minister's point in recognising that all these places are...

Seanad: Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister back to the House. I am sure the discussion today will be by some way the shortest stage the Bill has enjoyed in the House so far. I will limit my comments to amendments Nos. 1 and 2. One improvement the House made in the original legislation was acceding to the request that any changes in the boundaries of the harbour or any changes that might take place as a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: We support this Bill. My experiences as a public representative mean that I am glad to see such a Bill before the House. The constituency in which I live, Dublin Central, has been utterly terrorised by the existence of gangs and what they have done. My experience leads me to support the aims of this legislation and to support the amendment of Senators Regan and Alex White. There are three...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I am happy to answer that. Senator Mary White referred to becoming aware of the existence of gangs over the past month. Over the five years I was a public representative, I have been deeply aware of what gangs are up to and the effect they have in the community. This is why I support the Bill. However, this amendment would improve the Bill. In response to what the Minister stated my...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I will continue and in the Minister's response-----

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: What I am stressing is my contention that it should only be a chief superintendent. When the Minister responded to what one of my colleagues stated he made the point that a chief superintendent might not have the knowledge on the ground to put forward an effective testimony in court. I am making the point that from my experience of seeing chief superintendents perform I am equally certain...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I was only responding to what Senator White said.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I did not misread.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I did no such thing.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Senator White took the time to interrupt me and I responded.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Is that what Senator White would expect of us?

Seanad: Private Rented Accommodation (14 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: This matter relates to the Government's plan to address the quality of rental property. In my constituency of Dublin Central and elsewhere, the issue of substandard rental accommodation is causing significant concern to those who are living inside and beside such accommodation. My interest in this issue was first sparked when, as a member of Dublin City Council, I had to inspect some rental...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: The Government almost suffered the same fate last night.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: The answer is blowing in the wind.