Results 481-500 of 31,123 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (22 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I also want to be associated with the condolences expressed by my colleagues. I knew Senator Kett before I became a Member of this House. I first got to know him as a representative of the constituency of Dublin Central. The run-up to an election there, no less than in any other constituency, can be a fraught time. I came across him most during those pre-election periods. When I first...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Senator Fitzgerald called for a debate on the waste of financial resources and the effect of such wastage on the funding of front-line services. I request the Leader to ask the Minister for Transport to come to this House to give an account of the different agencies and semi-State bodies under his control.

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I attended a meeting of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Transport yesterday at which I heard a presentation on a report of an internal audit on the operation of Iarnród Éireann. The conclusions of the report and the manner in which it was presented were genuinely shocking in terms of how taxpayers' money is being spent. While considerable public debate on the company has focused on the...

Seanad: Order of Business (28 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: What about Gerry Adams getting his MP's salary, yet not going over to Westminster?

Seanad: Inter-Country Adoptions (28 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this issue for discussion on the Adjournment and I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Martin Mansergh, for coming to the House to respond. The problems being experienced by couples seeking to adopt children from abroad have been comprehensively discussed in this House, with much of the debate focusing on the situation as it pertains to Vietnam. Much...

Seanad: Inter-Country Adoptions (28 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister of State for the response. It contains some information that will be of help in responding to the family and people in a similar situation, especially the clarification regarding what the outcome might be for non-Hague countries once the legislation is published. It is a helpful response.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Business Plan: Statements (29 Oct 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Mansergh. I want to focus on an aspect of the business plan that was not referred to in his contribution and which has not been part of the public debate on the NAMA legislation to date. The objectives of NAMA, as laid out in the draft business plan, are very clear: "The eligible assets to be acquired from participating institutions are land and...

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment to the Order of Business proposed by Senator Fitzgerald and concur with Senator O'Toole in regard to the ongoing discussions between the social partners. A perception is being created in some quarters that failure is a creeping inevitability in these discussions. This House should send a clear message that failure is not an option. Our country stands on the brink and...

Seanad: Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (Resumed) (4 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I also welcome the Minister of State and acknowledge the work he personally is undertaking on the rental sector. New regulations are being introduced and far greater interest is being shown in that area, which is to be welcomed. However, the purpose of this debate is to focus on the Bill. I wish to raise a number of points, to which I would appreciate a response from the Minister of State....

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment to the Order of Business from Senator Fitzgerald and support other speakers' call for a debate on the OECD report. Senator Boyle is correct in that we should have a debate about the report in its entirety and the Seanad is a good place to have it. I will make two points on the matter. The biggest contribution our country can make in dealing with the crisis in our...

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: It is a national disgrace.

Seanad: Order of Business (5 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: It is the number one priority our country faces. This body was unveiled with great fanfare but has met only once this year. I emphasise the point I made yesterday. Our country has a choice. We can maintain wages at the present level and have fewer jobs or we can decide that wages will decrease for a while, hang onto the jobs we have and create the platform to make more jobs in the future....

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: I am struck by the number of my colleagues who have referred to the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall and have called for a debate on particular aspects of that. The history of that period merits a brief examination for a simple reason, namely, the fact that the so-called shock therapy that was visited upon many of the countries that left the Soviet way of managing the economy...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Yes.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: That was an absolutely extraordinary way to end a contribution on NAMA. Suddenly, it is all the Opposition's fault, a party that has not been in government for the past 17 years, for the setting up of the HSE and all its attendant waste. What I do agree with Senator Hanafin on is that this is a historic debate and legislation. No matter how long one spends in politics, one asks the...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: The issue is how we create a banking environment and structure so we never end up with an interest, particularly the banking sector, becoming so powerful it can challenge the democratic institutions of our State. It is so powerful that the democratic institutions of this State have no choice but to weigh in behind it, do all they can to support it and take extraordinary gambles on its...

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: We did.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: It was all going so well.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: No, it is not.

Seanad: National Asset Management Agency Bill 2009: Second Stage (9 Nov 2009)

Paschal Donohoe: Has Senator Leyden looked at his own party's business plan?