Results 621-640 of 31,218 for speaker:Paschal Donohoe

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I agree with Senator Mary White's comments about the role education can play in competitiveness and, in particular, about what Dr. Barrett, formerly of Intel, said in this regard earlier this week because this man knows what our county needs to be competitive. However, I reject what she said about our party. We do not need her pity. We are not asking for it nor do we need it. For her to...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Her leader presided over the drift and lack of direction which Mr. Barrett decried and deplored and that must be recognised. We need to have a debate on education. A cohort of young people in our society about whom we had a debate last night, need action more than pity. Two thirds of young men living in Limerick county and city are signing on and it is the same in other counties while...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I support the request by Senator Hannigan for a debate on emigration. I want to address in particular the attitude and views the Tánaiste has in this regard in light of comments she made on the BBC last night. Speaking about Irish people who are going abroad, she said in that debate, "There are people who have greater acumen academically, and there are people who have found work in other...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the amendment which I hope follows on from the earlier debates we had on the need to make this body as transparent as possible to ensure there will be confidence among all those who will depend on this body to work well and in a just manner.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for making these changes to the Bill. They will improve it because, as I said, they will make the operation of the body more transparent. I may have missed some of the points outlined by the Minister. The purpose of my amendment and that of the Government amendment is to make more transparent what is happening in the process as opposed to its outcome. The Government...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for confirming my understanding of the matter and I take his point in that regard. However, while I understand the case he has made I believe the Bill is flawed in this regard. The Minister has far more experience of this area than do I in terms of what happened in Mayo and the controversy in that regard. Let us consider the position had this system been in place when...

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Petroleum (Exploration and Extraction) Safety Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister for his participation in this debate and his willingness to take on board points made by Opposition Senators. I also thank his staff for their courtesy in meeting us and giving us an opportunity to understand the Bill better and for answering our questions. This is good legislation, which will make an important contribution to this area. I have flagged my one concern...

Seanad: Proposed Emergency Funding to Greece: Statements (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I thank the Minister of State for attending this debate. I agree with the point made by Senator Boyle. This appears to be a situation of huge gravity and it is important that this debate take place. We should examine what is taking place in the Greek economy and the implications overall for the eurozone. The nub of the issue is that governments bailed out the banks. One can quibble with...

Seanad: Schools Building Projects (16 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This matter, which is of great importance to a part of my constituency, concerns the difficulties faced by a school in the North Wall area that was due to be supported by the Dublin Docklands Development Authority. St. Laurence O'Toole primary school is in the heart of a community which has experienced major difficulties in recent years...

Seanad: Order of Business (17 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I support the call by Senator Fitzgerald for a debate on job creation. I return to the point I made yesterday regarding the attitude of the Government to young people. I repeat that this Government is allowing young people to take the full burden of the change that has taken place in the jobs market and the full burden of adjustment and flexibility needed in our labour market. Tragically,...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I call for a debate on the Renewed Programme for Government of 10 October last. This programme for Government was negotiated by Senator Boyle. He was part of the team that led to the delivery of it. The introduction of this programme for Government states: we have a responsibility to lead by example. ... We need to start a process...so that the highest standards apply and they are truly...

Seanad: Order of Business (18 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: This is a question to the Leader. Senator Boyle will not come into this House to stand up and make clear his own views. What exactly is it that Fianna Fáil needs to do before Senator Boyle's conscience finally gets the better of him?

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I support my colleagues in asking for an urgent debate on the banking economy. I also support Senator Walsh's comments in this regard. It is imperative that we have a debate soon. NAMA was sold to the country and this House on three different levels. First, it was to get credit flowing. We have seen that this is not the case. Second, it was to reduce the need of the State to take...

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: Where does this fit in with the concept of NAMA and the discussion on how it will operate? In the House, I argued that NAMA would be a creature of bubble economics and a slave to the vested interests that brought our country to the brink.

Seanad: Order of Business (23 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: It is crucial that we have this debate. If NAMA does not work, the losers will not be the banks, they will be the people.

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I support the call made by colleagues for a debate on the proposed reorganisation of Departments. I welcome the apparent suggestion of a Department with responsibility for public service reform and another Department that will focus specifically on the need to train and educate the unemployed. However, I wish to make two points. First, these proposals are being driven by the McCarthy...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: They need a willingness and determination to project themselves and to fight their corner at home and in overseas markets. I would go so far as to suggest that it would be good to see the same attitude from the Government.

Seanad: Special Educational Needs (25 Feb 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I visited St. Laurence O'Toole's special school in Dublin on Monday morning last. In the course of our work as politicians, we spend some time visiting schools and trying to understand their needs. I have never visited a school which does such important and hard work in such difficult circumstances. This school looks after young men and women who, for different reasons, are not part of our...

Seanad: Order of Business (2 Mar 2010)

Paschal Donohoe: I have one question for the Leader. I repeat a call I made last week for a debate on emigration and the Tánaiste's views on that issue. Last Thursday night on an RTE programme the Tánaiste was asked to comment on the nature and extent of involuntary emigration in our country and she would not answer the question. She would not acknowledge its existence or the extent of it. As I said...