Results 441-460 of 31,123 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Langers.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: No, it has not.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I request a debate on the future status of the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009. I could not care less about the antics of the Green Party, but I care about the measures designed to tackle the evil of organised crime in our cities and elsewhere, which many Members of the House supported last night.

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Will the issues that appear to have been raised by the Green Party undermine the measures that Fine Gael has requested in order that organised crime might be tackled? There was no reference to these issues, which appear to have emerged from nowhere, in either of the contributions of the two Green Party Senators during the Second Stage debate on the Bill. I am forced to draw a particular...

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: -----and the road to a special conference have been mentioned. However, with its behaviour, the Green Party has set itself on the road to nowhere. The Bill contains extremely important measures and an indication must be provided with regard to whether those measures will be implemented in full. I support the call made by Senator O'Reilly in respect of the REPS issue. I ridicule the...

Seanad: Oireachtas (Allowances to Members) and Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices Bill 2009 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Senator Hanafin asked how many other jobs are there in which the person doing the job does not know whether he or she will still have it in a year's time or a few years' time. The answer is that under the current economic circumstances this applies to nearly every job. Most people working in the private sector are uncertain whether they will have their jobs, or their current incomes, in 12,...

Seanad: Public Health (Tobacco) (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (15 Jul 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State. My attitude to this legislation is framed by my personal experience. I have had asthma since I was a young boy. At one stage it was quite bad. With the use of medicine now it is, at worst, an inconvenience. It has given me a real insight, however, into what it is like to struggle with unhealthy lungs. I did not ask to be asthmatic, I had no say in that,...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Sep 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I support Senators' calls for a debate on the legislation on the National Asset Management Agency. I note, in particular, Senator Hanafin's remark that there has never been a property crash which did not result in property prices subsequently appreciating by 88%. Is the real Fianna Fáil-Green Party plan for the economy to sort out the banking crisis by making homes unaffordable again for...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Second Stage (24 Sep 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister. I acknowledge the value of the introduction of this legislation in the House and the positive experience we have had in relation to Bills in this area during the past two years. I agree with the Minister, who stated at the outset of his contribution that legislation in relation to the regulation of transport in Ireland has been fraught. Such legislation has been, at...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Second Stage (24 Sep 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: What is coming next?

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Second Stage (24 Sep 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Does the Minister refer to his own party?

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I join with my colleagues in calling for a debate on the revised programme for Government. It is essential we have such a debate because our country is broke and we are borrowing €400 million per week to stay afloat. We face the prospect of 500,000 people unemployed and negative equity becoming a reality for tens of thousands of homes. This programme for Government is grounded in the...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second it.

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister. I am happy to support the amendment. The objective of Senator Ryan and his colleagues is admirable, to create a level playing field and ensure everyone is treated equally. A later amendment to be moved by Senator Ryan states competition must be sustainable and that there must be a degree of regulation. I fully agree with that approach. This amendment is in the...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment. I strongly concur with Senator Quinn. We are striving to create an environment in which a choice of public transport is provided to passengers at the lowest possible cost. To achieve this objective we need a greater variety of providers operating on a firmer statutory footing. The amendment proposes to give individuals the power to decide whether a route is viable...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second amendment No. 3. In regard to amendment No. 4, on which Senator Ryan has spoken, I agreed earlier with the objective of creating a regulated and sustainably competitive market, to which this amendment refers, but the intent driving my support for an amendment such as this is radically different, I suspect, from that of Senator Ryan. I have two reasons for opposing this Bill, the...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I move amendment No. 6: In page 11, line 17, to delete "may" and substitute "shall". These amendments refer to the section of the Bill that describes how licences granted should be displayed and also refers to the section of the Bill which states that the timetables, which shall form part of the contract to which the Minister referred earlier, shall be displayed. Both amendments seek to...

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I wish to check something before I proceed. Is it the case that amendment No. 6 pertains to the timetable, while amendment No. 7 pertains to the licence?

Seanad: Public Transport Regulation Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (15 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I appreciate the Minister's response on amendment No. 6. It will make a small but meaningful improvement in the operation of the system. With regard to his comments on No. 7, I take the Minister's point. It might be slightly prescriptive to say for whoever gets it that the full licence must be on public display. When considering the Bill for the next Stage he might consider mandating some...